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A BOOK FOR EYERY FARMER. 



THE 



AMERICAN VETERINARIAN; 



R . 



DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 



SHOWING THE 



CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND EEMEDIES, 



RULES FOR RESTORING AND PRESERVING HEALTH BY 
GOOD MANAGEMENT. 

WITH 

DIRECTIONS FOR TRAINING AND BREEDING. 



BY S. W. COLE, 

EDITOR AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT BOSTON CULTIVATOR, FORMERLY 
EDITOR YANKEE FARMER AND FARMER'S JOURNAL. 



NEW YORK : 

A. 0. MOORE, AGRICULTURAL BOOK PUBLISHER, 
No. 140 FULTON STREET. 

1859. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1847, by 

S. W. COLE, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of 

Massachusetts. 



The animals in our Frontispiece, " Lady Messenger," and 
her colt, " Morgan Messenger," are descendants of the famous 
Morgan and Messenger horses. They were formerly owned, 
and the colt was raised, by S. W. Jewett, Esq., Weybridge, 
Vermont ; but are now the property of General S. W. Bur- 
roughs, Medina, Orleans county, New York. 






Stereotyped by 
GEORGE A. CURTIS; 

NBW ENGLAND TYPE AND STEREOTYPE FOUNDER Y, 



PREFACE. 

In the whole routine of husbandry, there is not a subject 
on which there is so great a want 01 information as in treat- 
ing sick animals, and preventing diseases ; and in no case do 
so serious and frequent losses occur, for want of knowledge. 
These losses, in this country, amount to a vast sum annually, 
not less than some millions of dollars ; the greater part of 
which might be saved by good management and proper treat- 
ment. 

More than twenty years ago, we commenced collecting valu- 
able rules and prescriptions, for managing animals and curing 
diseases, for our own private use in pursuing the business 
of farming ; and in a number of instances, neighbors con- 
sulted these authorities, and by aid of a simple recipe, 
saved the lives of valuable animals. A mere item of a 
few lines, that costs less than one mill, may enable the 
farmer to save the life of an animal. By the help of a single 
prescription, whole herds and flocks have been saved from the 
11 pestilence that vvalketh in darkness, and the destruction that 
wasteth at noonday." 

We have continued our collection of valuable matter, con- 
sulting the best American and European authorities on the 
veterinary art, and many skilful practitioners, from whom we 
have obtained new and valuable prescriptions ; and in con- 
ducting agricultural journals for more than twelve years, we 
have carefully examined all the works of this character, in 
this country, and some of the principal English periodicals, 
through which numerous intelligent farmers have communi- 
cated their experience in managing stock and treating diseased 
animals. 

Availing ourselves ol our own experience and observation 
as a practical farmer, and conductor of papers devoted to the 
farming interest, and of our numerous sources, we have col- 
lected a vast heap of valuable materials on the subject of this 
work. This we have examined, sifted, arranged, digested, 
and reduced, by excluding words and retaining ideas, facts, 
and opinions, so as to present the cream and substance of the 
whole, in one neat, cheap volume, within the means of every 
one, and in a clear, simple style, within the comprehension of 
every one of common capacity. 

This work is not only adapted to the wants of the farmer 
but it should be in the. hands of every mechanic, and persons 



VI PREFACE. 

of every profession, who keep only a single horse, cow, sheep, 
pig, dog, or a few fowls. For every one who keeps animals 
should not only learn to keep them in good health for pecu- 
niary gain, but as a matter of humanity and benevolence, in 
relieving distress and adding to the comfort of those animals 
which a kind Providence has placed under his care and con- 
trol, for his own special good. 

On some nice and difficult subjects, as to the peculiar prop- 
erties and effects of certain medicines, and some points in 
the pathology of diseases, involved in the sciences of anatomy 
and physiology, we have had the assistance of the most skil- 
ful and experienced. We are more especially indebted to Dr. 
Holmes, the worthy Editor of the "Maine Farmer," for freely 
offering any aid, and giving valuable information, from his 
own experience and observation, on some of the the most diffi- 
cult cases that occur in the veterinary art ; and to Sanford 
Howard, Esq., one of the able Editors of the " Albany Culti- 
vator," who is excellent authority in breeding and managing 
stock, for assistance on abstruse points and questionable sub- 
jects. 

It has been our object to give several remedies, especially 
for the most common and destructive diseases ; as, in case a 
medicine does not succeed in due time, it affords an. opportu- 
nity to try another ; and many simple remedies are brought 
forward which the farmer has in his own house, or on his own 
premises, while he does not have convenient access to the 
apothecary's shop ; and these simple means are often as effi- 
cacious as a compound collected from the four quarters of the 
world, and New Holland besides. 

Among the simple and valuable medicines which the far- 
mer generally has at hand, are common salt, saltpetre, lime 
wood ashes, soot, lard, eggs, oil, mustard, molasses, honey, 
sugar, charcoal, ginger, tobacco, pepper, cayenne, bran, gruel, 
spirits of turpentine, coffee, camphor, sulphur, vinegar, tar 
rosin, chalk, and many other articles. And numerous herbs, 
barks, roots and plants, afford valuable decoctions, infusions, 
digestions and fomentations, that are among the most sov- 
ereign remedies for beast or man. 

We would invite intelligent men, who carefully investigate 
the subjects in this work, to give us their candid opinions on 
any part that claims particular attention, in the way of com- 
ment. Such notice will be gratefully received. 

March. 1847. S. W. COLE. 

Fourteenth Edition, oh Thirtieth Thousand. 
ised and Improved by the Author. 

S W. Q 



CONTENTS 



ANIMALS. 

Utility of Animals, . 13 

Treatment of Sick Animals, 15 

To promote the Health of Stock, 17 

Comfort of Animals, 20 

Exercise, 20 

Abstinence 22 

Unhealthy Meat, 24 

Animals Differ, 26 

Training and Breaking, 27 

Gestation, 29 

Water and Watering Places, 30 

Cooking Food for Horses and Cattle, 31 

Symptoms of Diseases, 32 

Physic, 33 

Diuretics, 34 

Seton or Rowel, 35 

Bleeding, i 37 

Back-Raking, 39 

Accidents, &c, 40 

Holding the Tongue when giving Medicine, 41 

Mode of giving Liquid Medicine, 41 

Mashes, 42 

Fomentations, 42 

Poultices, 43 

Caustics, 44 

Disinfectants and Anti-Putrescents, . , 44 

Clysters, or Injections, 45 

Astringents and Tonics, 47 

Anodynes and Sedatives, 48 

Stimulants and Carminatives, . 48 

Aromatics and Stomachics, 50 

To stop Blood, ,50 

Liniments. Opodeldoc, Embrocations, Ointments, &c, . 51 

Poisons of Various Kinds, 53 

Wounds of Various Kinds, , 56 

Broken Bones, 60 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

Inversion of the Rectum, 63 

Locked Jaw, or Tetanus, 64 

Rheumatism in the Joints, 66 

Inflamed and Sore Eyes, 66 

For a Film on the Eye, 67 

HORSES. 

Description of a Good Horse, 69 

Choosing a Good Horse, 71 

To ascertain a Horse's Age, 74 

Blind Bridles, 76 

Check Reins, 77 

Stables, 78 

Docking and Nicking, 80 

Exercise, 80 

Rearing and Training Colts, 81 

Taming, Training, and Breaking, 82 

Care of a Heated or Wet Horse, 89 

Dressing Vicious Horses, 89 

Utility of Dressing and Friction, 90 

Shoeing, 90 

To Save Horses from Fire, 91 

Food of Various Kinds, and its Preparation, 91 

Water, 99 

Care of Horses in Travelling, 99 

Feeding on the Road, 100 

General Management, 101 

Stomach and Intestines, 102 

Physic, 103 

Diuretics, 105 

Bleeding, 105 

Fever, 106 

Scours, 107 

Hove, 107 

Distinction between Colic and Inflammation, 108 

Colic, 108 

Inflammation of the Stomach and Intestines, Ill 

Bots, 112 

Indigestion, or Stomach Staggers, 117 

Yellows, or Jaundice, 117 

Glanders, 119 

Horse-Ail, 121 

Distemper, or Epidemic Catarrh, 123 

Cold, or Common Catarrh, 123 

Cough, 125 



CONTENTS IX 

Bronchitis, 126 

Pleurisy, 127 

Inflammation of the Lungs, 128 

Heaves — Thick and Broken Wind, 130 

Diseases of the Urinary Organs, 132 

Poll Evil, 138 

Phreuitis, or Inflammation of the Brain, 141 

Vertigo, Megrims, or Fits, 142 

Big Head, 143 

Rabies, or Madness, (see also page 277,) 145 

The Horse Disease, 145 

Lampas, 146 

Black Tongue, 146 

The Ears, 147 

Founder, ' 147 

Eating too much Grain, 148 

Hide-Bound, 149 

Lice, 150 

Moulting, or Shedding the Hair, 151 

Abortion, 151 

Wounds and Bruises, 152 

Cramp, or Drawing of the Nerves, 152 

Castration, 153 

Salivation, or Slobbers, 155 

Fistula, 156 

Sweeney, 157 

Galled Back, 157 

The Sheath and Penis, 158 

Spring Halt, 159 

Stifle, 159 

Splent, 161 

Spavins, 161 

Swelled Legs, or Weed, 163 

Ring-Bone, ... . 163 

Scratches, or Selenders, 164 

Diseases of the Feet, 165 

NEAT CATTLE. 

Marks of a Good Cow, 169 

Marks of a Good Working Ox 170 

To ascertain the Age of Cattle, 170 

Training, 172 

Food, 174 

Managing and Feeding Working Oxen, 176 

Feeding and Managing Milch Cows, 177 



X CONTENTS. 

Soiling, 179 

General Management, 179 

Rearing Calves, 180 

The Hair and Skin, 182 

Perspiration, 183 

Currying and Friction, 183 

The Pulse, 183 

Organs of Digestion, 184 

Giving Medicine to Ruminants, 185 

Free Martins, 185 

Bots in Cattle, 185 

Warbles, or Grubs in the Back, 186 

Lice, 186 

Physic, 187 

Diuretics, 188 

Hernia, or Rupture, 188 

Colic, 189 

Warts, Wens, and Tumors, 190 

Loss of Cud, 190 

Over- Heating and Over-Drawing, 191 

Mad Itch, 192 

Jaundice, or Yellows, 192 

Wounds, 193 

Fever, 194 

Inflammation of the Bowels, and Costiveness, 194 

Vomiting, 195 

Rabies, or Madness, (see also page 277,) 196 

Staggers, 197 

Inflammation of the Brain, 197 

Horn or Head-Ail, 198 

Tail Sickness, 200 

Hoof-Ail, 20C 

Wolf, or Holdfast, 201 

Colds, Cough, and Hoose, 201 

Inflammation of the Lungs, 203 

Husk, or Hoose, in Calves, 203 

Diarrhoea, or Looseness, 204 

Dysentery, 204 

Looseness, or Scours, in Calves, 206 

Mange, Scurf, or Scab, • 207 

Choking, 207 

Blain, or Bladders 208 

Black Tongue, 209 

Hoven, or Bloat, 209 

Ulcers, 212 

Milk Sickness, 212 



CONTENTS. XI 

Bloodv Murrain, 214 

Red Water, or Bloody Murrain, 217 

Black Leg, or Blood, i. . 220 

Inflammation of the Bladder, 222 

Stub Complaint, 223 

Inflammation of the Shape, . . 223 

Bone Disorder, 224 

To prevent a Cow sucking herself, 225 

Kicking and Refractory Cows, 226 

To cause a Cow to giv> down her Milk, 226 

For Cows drying up suddenly, . ". 226 

Drying up a Cow, 227 

Perforating Cows' Dugs, 227 

Abortion, or slinking Calf, 227 

Management of Cows before Calving, 229 

Milking Cows before Calving, 230 

Management at Calving, 231 

Management after Calving, 237 

Cows eating the Placenta, 238 

Giving Cows Biestings, 238 

Sore Teats and Udders, 239 

Milk Fever, or Dropping after Calving, 239 

Garget, ... 240 

To cause a Cow to go with Young, 240 

Broken Horns, 241 

SHEEP. 

To know the Age of Sheep, 243 

General Management, 243 

Treatment of Sheep after Shearing, 246 

Lambs, 247 

Wool in the Stomachs of Lambs, 248 

Browse for Sheep, 249 

Castration. 250 

Tails of Sheep — Docking Lambs, 250 

Physic, 251 

Manner of Bleeding, 251 

Excretory Ducts in the Feet, 252 

To destroy Vermin, 252 

Scab, 253 

Stoppages in the Throat, 255 

Sore Mouth and Johnswort Scab, 255 

Disorders of the Eyes, 255 

Worms in the Head, 256 

Sturdy, or Water in the Head, 258 

Inflammation of the Brain, 259 



Xll CONTENTS. 

Apoplexy, 260 

Staggers, 260 

Foul Noses, 261 

Iufluenza, ; 261 

Scours, or Diarrhoea, 261 

Dysentery, 263 

Rot, 263 

Fever, 265 

Consumption, . . 266 

Stretches, 266 

Braxy, 267 

Dropsy, 267 

Foot-Rot, 268 

Hoven — Abortion — Swelled Udders — Management 

when with Young, 269 

SWINE. 

To preserve Health, 271 

Issues, 272 

Swellings, 272 

Ruptures, 272 

Giving Drenches, 273 

A General Medicine, 273 

Disorder, 273 

Fever, 273 

Swine Pox, 273 

Catarrh, 273 

Measles, 273 

Itch, or Mange, 274 

Blind Staggers, 274 

Is Tobacco Poisonous to Hogs? 274 

Sore Throat, 274 

Cluincy, 276 

Scours, 275 

Black Teeth, 275 

Kidney Worms, 275 

Murrain, 276 

Sows devouring their Offspring, 276 

Sows after Littering, 276 

Abortion from Biesiings, 276 

Dogs, 277 

Hens, 231 

Turkeys — Ducks, 283 

Geese — Birds — Bees, 284 

Principles of Breeding, 285 



DISEASES 

OF 

DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 



Domestic Animals lessen the solitude and retirement 
of the country. They please us with their gambols when 
young, and by their actions in maturer life. They fur- 
nish the means of improving the soil, and perpetuating 
its fertility ; and we are gratified with our sovereignty 
over them. 

The Horse greatly adds to our pleasure and our 
profit by his labor in the field and on the road, and his 
fleetness in earning us from place to place. He aids in 
keeping up a communication with distant sections of the 
country, and serves as a necessary part of the cement 
of civilized society. He administers to our health, as 
well as to our pleasure and general welfare. He often 
evinces great sagacity, and a strong attachment for his 
master. 

Xeat Cattle contribute largely to the blessings and 
rts of life. The strength and patience of the ox in 
the plough and team, have greatly contributed to the 
v.ealth and happiness of the husbandman, in ever 
of the world. The cow has strong demands upon our 
gratitude. Her milk furnishes subsistence to a great 
part of mankind ; and its products in cream, butter, and 
cheese, form agreeable parts of the sustenance and 
ries of our table. A pustule upon her udder sup- 
olies a matter, which, when introduced into the human 
system, defends it from one of the most fatal and loath- 
some scourges that ever afflicted mankind. Their flesh 
affords an agreeable nutriment ; their tallow 7 serves as a 
substitute for the sun, and enables us to prosecute our 
business during a part of the long and dreary night. Theii 
2 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

hair affords a necessary ingredient in plaster ; their skins 
protect our feet from injuries and the weather, and fur- 
nish covering for books, carriages, trunks, and form the 
best material for harnesses, saddles, bands, and many 
other valuable purposes. Their horns supply combs, 
and, with their bones, are used in a variety of ways. 

Sheep are a pattern of innocence and a symbol of 
purity. In all nations, and in all ages of the world, their 
flesh has been admired as a delicious and wholesome 
food ; and they annually yield their warm and liberal 
fleeces to defend us from rigorous cold, protect us from 
inclement weather, and contribute to comfort, elegance, 
and taste. 

The Hog, while living, will make manure for the 
farmer, being one of the most useful of manufacturers 
for this purpose ; and at his death, he furnishes his 
flesh for food, his bristles for brushes, and other impor- 
tant uses, his fat for medical and culinary purposes, and 
his oil for light. 

The Dog is distinguished for his courage and fidelity 
in defending our persons and property ; for his strong 
attachment for his master ; and, in many cases, his sa- 
gacity in saving the life of his friends, commands our 
admiration, and commends him to our kindness and 
attention. 

Poultry have strong claims upon our kindness and 
care. They adorn our yards and fruit-trees with their 
beautiful plumage and various lively actions. They 
inform us of the approach of day. They furnish 
quills for writing, and feathers for beds ; and their 
eggs and flesh are a mild sustenance for the invalid, a 
delicious food for the hale, and a banquet to grace the 
board of hospitality and elegance. 

Although different species of animals differ materially 
in some respects, yet they are nearly the same in others. 
In regard to good, wholesome food, pure water, fresh 
air, exercise, dieting, abstinence, protection from expo- 
sure, kind treatment, and general management, the 
same, or nearly the same rules and remarks apply to 
all ; and some few diseases, their causes, the treatment 
and remedies, are nearly the same in all. 






DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 15 

Therefore, to save repetition, and comprise as much 
useful matter as possible in this compend, we have 
arranged, under the general head of "Domestic Ani- 
mals," several articles that appertain to all, or to several 
kinds ; and we have treated of those diseases and the 
management peculiar to each species, under their appro- 
priate heads. Owing to this arrangement of the work, 
those who consult it, on the diseases of any species, 
should consider these general articles first. 

TREATMENT OF SICK ANIMALS. 

There are many erroneous notions prevalent in the 
rommunity, in regard to the treatment of sick animals, 
and numerous unnatural and injurious practices prevail, 
in consequence of these notions. If animals could 
speak, they would tell sad tales of "wrongs and out- 
rage." 

No wonder that this course is pursued with animals, 
when we consider that many human beings frequently 
have their stomachs converted into apothecaries-' shops, 
and after taking emetics and purges, emptying the 
stomach and washing it out, the patient, poor and debil- 
itated by the severe operations and necessary starvation 
attendant upon them, is again built up, with all possible 
despatch, by roast beef, baked lamb, boiled pork, and a 
host of other substantial dishes, and numerous condi- 
ments to excite the appetite ; when a little abstinence, 
allowing the over-tasked digestive organs a little rest, 
would have cured, without impairing the powers of the 
system. 

We recommend to owners of animals to exercise 
common se?ise, act with moderation and discretion, and 
not take hasty and harsh measures, and kill an animal 
by rough treatment, and by numerous and powerful 
doses, when, perhaps, if he was left for nature to do her 
own work, first removing the cause of disease, he would 
recover without medical aid. Be cautious against toe 
much doctoring. Remember the distich, 

"You say you doctored me when lately ill ; 
To prove you didn't, 1 'm living still." 



physician 

as he 

•. ined eminence, 
and v 

: . pursued 

on from lime to lime, till 

monument 
rather tha 

'. par- 

t>ut not th< 
which are 

requires a rent treatment from 

*«$ts, the symp- 
learnevl. that the 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 17 

favorable circumstances, and the grand object of all 
medicines, and all treatment, is to assist nature. 

In the human family, great cures are performed by 
proper attention to food, abstinence, exercise, air, bath- 
ing, rest, and to the various habits of the patient. 
Some severe and obstinate diseases, that have refused to 
yield to the most powerful medicines, have been com- 
pletely conquered by abstinence — even sometimes ap- 
proaching to starvation. 

Why should not some of these gentle means, or the 
last severe course, if necessary, be pursued with brute 
patients ? 

Keep animals constantly under favorable circum- 
stances for health ; and, in case of sickness, remove and 
withhold all causes of irritation and disease, and place 
the patient under the most favorable treatment for 
recovery. Keep the bowels open, the skin clean and 
well rubbed ; give pure water, good food, suited to the 
condition, fresh air, yet protect from exposure ; and but 
very little medicine will be necessary, excepting in 
sudden attacks with acute diseases. 

Judicious management is the main thing, both in 
preserving and restoring health. We say of good man- 
agement in regard to animals, as Demosthenes said of 
pronunciation in oratory, — it is the FIRST, the second, 
and the third important requisite. 

TO PROMOTE THE HEALTH OF STOCK. 

Under various heads, in other parts of this work, we 
have given directions for the management of stock j we 
here give some general rules, with a few remarks on 
subjects not elsewhere considered. 

Mix, occasionally, one part of salt with four, five, or six 
parts of wood ashes, and give the mixture to different 
kinds of stock, summer and winter. It promotes their 
appetite, and tends to keep them in a healthy condition. 
It is said to be good against bots in horses, murrain in 
cattle, and rot in sheep. 

A correspondent of the " Southern Planter" says, that 
he put ashes into his hogpen, and sprinkled them with 
2* 



IS DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

salt, and his hogs ate greedily of the mixture. He gave 
it to his cattle, and they improved wonderfully. We 
have given it to cattle and sheep, apparently with good 
effect. They eat it freely. It neutralizes the acid in the 
stomach. 

Horseradish root is valuable for cattle. It creates 
an appetite, and is good for various diseases. Some give 
it to" any animal that is unwell. It is good for oxen 
troubled with the heat. If animals will not eat it volun- 
tarily, cut it up fnrj and mix it with potatoes or meal. 

A quart or two of new chamber lye, frequently given 
to each animal is a preventive of disease. A piece of 
rosin, the size of an egg, pounded fine and given to a 
horse once a month, in his provender, is excellent foi 
keeping him in good health j it keeps the urinary pas- 
sages open. 

Feed all animals regularly. They not only look foi 
their food at the usual time, but the stomach indicates 
the want at the stated period. Therefore feed, morning, 
noon and evening, as near the same time as possible. 

Guard against the wide and injurious extremes of 
satiating with excess and starving with want. Food 
should be of a suitable quality, and proportioned to the 
growth and fattening of animals, to their production in 
young and milk, and to their labor or exercise. Animals 
that labor need far more food, and that which is more 
nutritious, than those that are idle. 

Those with young should be well kept, as they have 
an extra draught upon their resources j but they should 
not have very rich food, as high condition, in such 
cases, is often attended with difficulty and danger. 

Animals with young will do better by having moderate 
exercise, as it tends to insure health, strength, and per- 
fection in their offspring. When giving milk they should 
have an abundance of rich food, but not such as will tend 
too much to flesh and fat, nor so much to milk as to 
make them poor. 

Males used for propagating their species extensively, 
should be well kept at all seasons, and fed high at the 
time their services are most in demand ; and, at other 
seasons, they should have a moderate share of exercise, 
to give them strength, symmetry and health. 



DISEASES OF A^ MALS. 19 

Young ifiimalSj that are gio-viug fast, are very hearty 
and need good keeping. Those that are fattening require 
rich food and a good supply, ifet there are seasons in 
which some animals are not growing, fattening, nor 
laboring, and there are no heavy draughts upon them ; in 
such cases they should be fed only moderately, and with 
plain food, as that which is rich will tend to cloying and 
disease. 

In grazing, animals are often injured and their health 
destroyed, by feeding on urvholesome plants in luxuri- 
ant, wet, marshy lands, and ty the unwholesome exha- 
lations and water of such regions. In such cases, give 
salt, ashes, a little salt-petre now and then, tar, and other 
condiments that are conducive to health ; and keep ani- 
mals from such lands at night, and supply with water 
from high lands, if possible. 

Unwholesome food is often fed to animals in winter, 
such as bad grain, musty hay, and other fodder, and 
hay salted too highly, to save it when got in green. In 
such cases a peck of salt to a ton is too much, if it all be 
salted at this rate • for thirteen cows will eat about a ton 
of hay in a week ; and we have observed that when cattle 
are at grass, at a season in which they eat more salt than 
in winter, thirteen grown animals will not, on an average, 
through the summer, eat four quarts of salt a week, given 
to them twice. This would indicate four quarts to a ton 
to be an abundance. 

Musty hay is improved by cutting and moistening 
with water, adding occasionally a little salt to the water, 
if no salt was put on the hay. 

Guard all descriptions of stock against cold and expo- 
sure, especially against cold storms of rain, sleet and 
damp snow, and against lying out on the cold ground, in 
200I nights, in the spring and fall. 

In a dry time, see that animals have a good supply of 
pure water. When the fountains are low, they drink the 
drainings of fountains, streams, and passages of water, 
which are unwholesome. 

If barns and stables are very tight and warm, ventilate 
in mild weather, even in winter. 

In feeding animals on apples or roots, begin with a 



20 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

small quantity and gradually increase it. It would be 
better to have all changes in food made gradually, when 
there is a material difference in the nature of the food ; 
as from hay to grass, and the reverse j from much fodder 
to much grain, and the reverse. 

COMFORT OF ANIMALS. 

An animal may be well fed, and apparently well 
attended, and yet be uncomfortable, owing to an uneven 
floor to stand or rest on, a bad rack or manger, or some 
other inconvenience in the stable. There may be a want 
of exercise, or condiments, or change of food, pure air, 
currying, pure water, or something else necessary to 
comfort. He may breathe on his food, and render it 
offensive ; something not very apparent may incom 
mode, vex, tease, or render the animal in some way un- 
comfortable. Of course, his digestion is impaired, his 
appetite declines, he will not grow or fatten, and is unfit 
for labor, and the female will not be in good condition 
for propagation, or yielding plentifully good, wholesome 
milk. Therefore, make your animals comfortable. 

EXERCISE. 

The health of man depends more on exercise in the 
open air than on any other one thing. A proper diet, 
bathing, protection from exposure, regular rest, regu 
larity in meals, suitable employment for the body and 
mind, freedom from trouble and vexation, and many 
other favorable circumstances, are all conducive to health, 
and some of them highly important, and to those who do 
not exercise, they are not only indispensable to health, 
but to life ; for they cannot live without great attention to 
them. 

But, as important as these are, let a man of common 
constitution be accustomed to a plenty of exercise in the 
open air, and he will often bid defiance to them all ; and 
even contend strongly for many a long year against the 
gigantic monster intemperance. He will lhe on the fat 
of the land, or flourish on plain living or hard fare. He 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 21 

will neglect bathing for a whole year, unless he is caught 
in a shower. He will bear the sun of a torrid summer, 
and face old Boreas in the sternest winter ; he will take 
Jack Frost by the nose, and manage him to his advan- 
tage ; will handle him in all shapes and conditions, and 
even pack him up, send him off, and sell him. 

He will sleep ten hours a night, if necessary to kill 
time ; or he will sleep fast, and occasionally get along 
comfortably with only a few hours' rest. He can eat four 
or five meals a day, when convenient, and at other times, 
lie will flourish on two meals, and in cases of necessity he 
will endure labor on only one. He will attend to any 
employment, or, Yankee like, pursue every profession 
under the sun. And he will stem a torrent of vexation 
uul trouble. 

We have spoken of bipeds, as their habits and the 
aitluence of their habits are accurately known ; for 

11 How can we reason but from what we know V 

Xow, when we see that in man exercise is of more im- 
oortance to health than anything else, and consider that 
mimals in a state of nature take much exercise in pro- 
:uring their sustenance, or as a matter of pleasure, and 
\re consequently in good health, should they not have 
:.xercise in a domestic state, when, from high feeding, 
md plethoric habits, they have far more need of it ? 

This subject has never received the attention its im 
^ortance demands, and we fear that it never will ; but 
tve make these remarks, hoping that, in many cases, they 
urilJ set the intelligent and discriminating to thinking, 
md lead to improvement. We pursue a course with 
ini rials which would kill ourselves, and when they are 
half dead from inaction and repletion, we kill and con- 
sume them, and thus live fast and short — wearing out 
our machine by too much speed, or we are suddenly 
thrown oft* the track and smashed — unless we save our- 
selves from these evils by an abundance of exercise. 

But the wise man, in addition to this first thing for the 
preservation of health, will attend to all others also ; for 
ahbough of miner itf portance compared with exercise, 
> 1 1 they are of grca." ioment. The subject of healthy 



22 USES OF ANIMALS. 

moats should receive particular attention in regard to 
exercise, this indispensable requisite to health — this 
etnphaticai >7w qua no*, (not without which.) 

Lot all annuals have suitable exercise ; it is alike con- 
ducive to their health, comfort and happiness; and it 
contributes Largely to their utility tor every purpose for 
which we keep them, whether tor labor, propagation, for 
the production ot* milk, or tor their tiesh. 

ABSTINENCE. 

A great many diseases may be cured by abstinence, 
or by living a tew days, or longer, it' necessary, on light 
Many a person, by living on gruel, porridge. 
turnips, fruits, and other light food, tor a short 
time, has warded off threatened disease, or saved him- 
self from B v.iment under medicine that would 
have prostrated him, weakened the powers of digestion, 
and perhaps impaired the strength of the constitution. 

id the most skilful in particu- 
lar, a. much medicine, however lib- 
erally they may deal it out to satisfy the expectations 
s, who depend mostly on them 
v. Howard. Napoleon, and many other dis- 
o had a great knowledge of the 
human medicine: but. on the 
:hey fasted, or lived abstemiously, 
and thus sss. We make these remarks 
with a view of urging the importance of abstinence, or 
■g. m treating animals that are suffering from 
s, and various dis ought 
ad too liberal feeding. Light food, such 
ill quantities, coarse fod- 
der, straw, tec . will nil* he stomach, satisfy and make 
mimal comfortable, and prevent the danger that 
might n an em \ch. in case of total 
abstinence, and .but little nutriment to support 

In this way, many 
B prevented by timely consideration, 
this c mem. while the animal is under 

aluable auxiliary in 
connection with the medi^ 



diseases of ani:: 23 

Those who consult this work will please bear this 
subject in mind, and regard its importance in those 
cases in which light food is recommended ; tor more can 
be done to keep an animal in health, or restore health 
when he is diseased, by good management, than by 
medicines. 

'ire wisely provides that our appetites shall fail 
when we are sick and the system cannot dispose of food. 

ould improve upon this hint, and prevf-: 
by moderation in all things. On this our health and life 
depend. A alth depends so much on temper- 

ance in ea- j. in case of illness, resto- 

ration to health depends greatly on abstinence, or light 
food. Few are aware of its importance ; many who 
are essentially benefited by it, lose sight of the cause. 

A man. who was sick from high living, consulted a 
who put him on the most rig~. et, as 

the only means of restoring health. He pursued it 
awhile ; (suffering like the famous Sancho Panza. who 
the table groaning beneath rich viands which he 
dared not taste 5) at length he resolved that his belly, 
his god, should be filled with something bet- 
ter than gruel and bran, and he nullified the physician ? s 
directions, and soon demolished a plate of mutton chops, 
and washed it down with brandy, and then said that 
these things cured him of such a disease ; giving the 
ian no credit for curing him by starvation, allow- 
ing his system rest, and chance to regain its powers of 
so as to dispose of anything that was put 
into it. 

Another case directly to the point : — g man 

was ailing, and it was thought that he was going into a 
decline. He consulted several physic: tried 

their prescriptions, but in vain : and mesmerism was 
tried, with no better succe-?. A friend proposed to 
undertake his cure, if he would follow his severe direc- 
tions ; to which he agreed. He was kept en gruel, and 
a small allowance of that, as his case was an obsti- 
nate one. Under this regimen he recovered, and we 
saw him some months after, hale and robust, pursuing 
:he sturdy labors 0: the farm. 



24 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

The sick often injure themselves by feasting, being 
tempted by the excellent, rich dishes provided for them. 
The following is an illustration : An invalid had a 
favorite food prepared for his weak stomach ; and when 
he had despatched the eleventh dumpling, and was about 
making an attack on the last, his little daughter ex- 
claimed, " Oh ! dad, give me dat ! " when he replied, with 
a most lugubrious countenance, and in a melancholy 
tone, "Go away, child ; poor dad is sick ! " 

We give these cases as illustrations, as they show the 
importance of abstinence, where we can and have judged 
of its effects. By reasoning, we can see its bearing on 
the health of domestic animals, and make the applica- 
tion ; for, in this respect, all animals are much the same, 
whether two-legged or four-legged. 

UNHEALTHY MEAT. 

Great labor injures meat. A fat ox was overworked, 
and then killed, and his flesh sent to market. Of twenty- 
four persons who ate of the meat, fourteen died, mostly 
with diseases of the stomach and bowels. 

Driving animals rapidly in hot weather, so as to pro- 
duce excessive fatigue and exhaustion, renders their 
meat unwholesome, as well as unsavory ; hence the 
superiority of the meat of animals brought to market in 
steamboats and cars, or allowed to travel leisurely, feed 
by the roadside, and gain on the way, over that of ani 
mals driven rapidly, and far, in hot weather. 

All very young meats are hard to digest, and of course 
unwholesome. A calf at three weeks old is harder to 
digest than an ox at ten. A young pig is more unwhole- 
some than a piece of an old hog. A chicken one month 
old is more difficult of digestion than a hen of. one year. 
Young animals, in this respect, are like fruits, that not 
only lack maturity, but are only partially grown. With 
this view of the subject, the authorities of Paris have 
ordained that no veal shall be offered for sale, unless 
the calf was six weeks old. 

Putrid exhalations produce obstructions and ulcers in 
the livers of animals, which render them unfit for food ; 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 26 

hence the importance of pure air for healthy meat. Any- 
thing that tends to make animals unhealthy, tends also 
to render their flesh unwholesome. 

Animals are always unwholesome in the season in 
which they propagate their species. Hence the wisdom 
of that church which substitutes fish for flesh during a 
part of the spring months. 

Even the heat of summer, in middle climates, renders 
their flesh unwholesome. Hence the propriety of living 
mostly on vegetable food, with a small portion of salted 
meat, during the summer and early part of autumn. 

Animals sometimes become so fat that they cannot see, 
and for weeks or months before their death, cannot get 
up without help. Such have the fat disease, that would 
soon destroy them ; but they are saved from waste by being 
killed and eaten. Some animals are kept in tilth and 
foul exhalations, and are fed on the most nasty and 
putrid vegetable and animal matter, taking no exercise, 
and are thus fatted without a breath of fresh air, or a 
mouthful of pure food. This course would soon termi- 
nate their existence, but the butcher's knife kindly saves 
them from a lingering death, and they are sold in the 
market, and eaten by the purchaser, who is unconscious 
that death is in the pot. 

Some persons are so great epicures that they only wish 
to feast on those fat meats that the man of common sense 
would pronounce fit only to aid in the composition of 
soap. They seem to live merely for the sake of eating, 
but they defeat their own purpose, by living too highly, 
and feasting on meats so rich and unwholesome that 
their career is as short as it is inglorious. 

In and about cities there is a vast amount of filth, fit 
only for manure, that is converted into food for man ; 
and with so little change, that the meat produced from 
it engenders disease and death. To insure life and 
health, an animal, as well as man, should have pure 
air, pure food and exercise ; and any deviation from 
these rules produces disease, and those who eat diseased 
matter, animal or vegetable, violate nature's laws, and 
must, sooner or later, pay the sad penalty annexed to 
the transgression ; no matter whether they do it from 
3 



26 DISEa&JS OF ANIMALS. 

temerity or indiscretion, — she knows no exceptions. 
Her laws are inflexible, — as fixed as those of the Medes 
and Persians. 

Again we say, keep your animals, for your own eat- 
ing, on wholesome food, pure water, and in good air ; 
allow them exercise, and place them under all those 
various circumstances that produce good health, and of 
course pure meat. And if you make meat to sell, love 
your neighbor as yourself, and 

" Be to others kind and true, 
As you 'd have others be to you." 

Steal from a man's pocket, or rob him on the high- 
way, — as criminal as it is, and as horrid and awful as 
may be the consideration of such crime, — rather than rob 
him of his money, his health, and his LIFE. Oh, that 
the " auri sacra fames ," (cursed love of gold,) could find 
some less criminal mode of gratification, some other 
way of accomplishing its purpose, than that of tamper- 
ing with the health and life of human beings ! 

ANIMALS DIFFER. 

There is not only a great difference in the diseases 
peculiar to different species of animals, but the effects of 
medicines on them vary. 

Knowledge of the diseases of animals in general can- 
r.-ot be inferred from a knowledge of one particular spe- 
cies ; for in the diseases of different races, the causes 
vary, the peculiar nature of diseases is different, and 
there is also a great difference in the effects of medicine 
on different species. The anatomy and physiology of 
animals differ. The dog has no insensible perspiration. 
Hogs do not perspire over the whole system, like cattle 
and horses, but they have issues on the inside of their 
fore legs, which are an outlet for the superflous fluids of 
the body. 

In the horse, the mouth conveys nothing to the lungs 
or from them. The passages to the lungs and to the 
stomach are distinct. The horse and dee», unlike other 
quadrupeds, have no gall bladder. Cattle have bots in 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 27 

their skin, but not in the stomach, like the horse, unless 
from associating with that animal, and licking the nits 
from him. 

Hove, or bloating, is peculiar to cattle and sheep ; from 
their organization, in having four stomachs, and rumina- 
ting, or re-chewing their food. It is unusual in the horse 

The effects of medicines on different species of ani 
mals vary as much as their structure and diseases. 
Salts, which are a valuable physic for cattle and sheep, 
operate on the horse as a diuretic ; while aloes, which is 
the surest and best purgative for the horse, is very un 
certain for cattle, and sometimes dangerous, from pro 
ducing inflammation. 

Calomel, rhubarb, and colocynth do not operate as 
purgatives on the horse ; nor do any medicines operate on 
him as tartar emetic and ipecacuanha upon the human 
species. The horse can vomit only through the nose. 
Mercury will not salivate him, (but various plants will,) 
nor will sugar of lead poison him. But wheat, the natu 
ral food of man, is poisonous to the horse, when taken 
in very large quantities. Spirits of turpentine, which a 
child may handle without injury, operates as caustic 
when applied to the skin of the horse ; yet it may be 
applied to sores without pain. It is also like fire, when 
applied to the skm of the dog. [For other differences, 
see Poisons.] 

Notwithstanding these and other peculiar differences, 
animals in general are alike in many respects, both as to 
the causes and nature of diseases, and some remedies 
operate alike favorable on all. And as to treatment, in 
regard to wholesome food, pure water and air, exer- 
cise, protection from cold, wet, excessive heat, regularity 
of feeding, diet, keeping the bowels open, and the skin 
clean, &c. &c, nearly the same rules apply to all. 

TRAINING AND BREAKING. 

Animals should be trained, not broken. Train up an 
animal in the way he should go, and he will never need 
breaking. Some let their animals run wild, until three 
or four years old, and they become strong, wayward, and 



2S DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

ignorant ; and then they undertake to break them, — ani 
breaking it is, emphatically j for they often break their 
constitution, their courage, their spirit, and sometimes 
their bones ; and occasionally the breakers themselves 
get their own bones broken in this hazardous business. 

Besides these evils, there is great loss of time, and 
frequently a smash of carriages, a destruction of har- 
nesses, and a large consumption of whips ; and the ani- 
mal, by this hard usage, — this breaking instead of train- 
ing, — often contracts bad habits, from which he never 
can be broken ; and frequent fright, and sometimes seri- 
ous injury, or loss of life, is the consequence. 

The most valuable animals for service, — the kindest, 
the safest, the most pleasant, and the most tractable, — are 
those that are trained in the way they should go, and 
well educated in their duties from their youth, or infancy, 
up to mature years. In all this training there should 
be great kindness; the most gentle means should be 
used, and the young animal should be taught, with 
patience and perseverance, what he should perform ; not 
driven to do what he does not know, what he cannot un- 
derstand, while threatened, frightened, and excited under 
the exercise of arbitrary authority and dictation ; and 
sometimes smarting under the lash, or groaning under 
the unmerciful blows of the cudgel, until enraged and 
infuriated to desperation. 

If managed with intelligence and discretion, with due 
regard to their tenderness and liability to injuries from 
bad treatment, no matter how early the training com- 
mences, — even when the animal is a few weeks old ; he 
will soon become familiar, docile and tractable. 

While the animal is young, and unaccustomed to con 
trol, and strongly inclined to follow his dam, or his fel- 
lows, great caution and kindness should be used in urging 
him in a way contrary to his habits and affections, while 
these form a ruling passion, and he has but little intelli 
gence or knowledge ; as fright and sad distress would be 
the consequence of crossing them. Under such circum- 
stances, a young animal may be shut up or tied, and thus 
tamed and controlled, but he should not be driven by 
brute force, against his will. 

You ipiv confine a young animal to a spot against hi? 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 29 

m\\, or carry him in your arms, by your superior force, 
without injury j but if you attempt to compel him to 
stay on that spot, or go the way you would have him, 
by the use of the lash or cudgel, you might kill him, but 
you could not overcome his inclination while it is strong- 
er than the love of life, or he knows not the cause of the 
punishment so liberally and unmercifully inflicted. 

GESTATION. 

The experiment made by order of Earl Spencer on 
cows, has been reported in the Journals of the Royal 
Agricultural Society, and is very full and satisfactory. 
The number of cows noted was 764. The shortest period 
in which a live calf was produced was 220 days, or not 
much over seven months ; but no calf, produced in less 
than 242 days, or about eight months, could be raised. 
The longest period of gestation was 313 days, or ten 
months and nine days. Of the 764 cows, 314 calved 
before the 284 days, and 310 calved after the 285th day. 
From this it would appear that the probable gestation in 
the cow may be fixed at 285 days, or nine months and 
twelve days. 

The report of M. Teissier of Paris, of his experiment, 
made on the experimental farm established by the French 
government, both on cows and mares, shows the follow- 
ing results : — Of 582 mares which received the male but 
once, the shortest period of gestation was 287 days, or 
little less than nine months and a half — and the longest 
419 days, or about thirteen months and a half; making 
a difference of 132 days, or over four months. Of 575 
cows. 21 calved between the 240th and 270th day; 544 
calved between the 270th and the 299th day — mean 282 
days ; and 10 calved between the 299th and 321st day 
— mean 313 days. 

A German publication gives the following table : — 

Animal. Shortest period. Longest period. Mean period. 

Mare 322 days. 419 days. 347 days. 

Cow 240 do. 321 do. 283 do. 

Ewe 145 do. 161 do. 154 do. 

Sow 109 do. 143 do. 115 do. 

3* 



30 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

Professor Johnson observes, " That any calf, producec 
at an earlier period than 260 days, must be considered 
decidedly premature ; and any period of gestation exceed- 
ing 300 days must also be considered irregular ; but in 
the latter case the health of the produce is not affected.'' 

Youatt says the usual time of gestation with cows is 
270 days ; but Bement, of Albany, who has made many 
observations on this subject, finds a different result. He 
sets it down at 283 or 288 days. Mr. Parolett, an English 
farmer, found, from his experiments, that sheep went 
with young from 144 to 158 days. Those that came 
earliest were ewes, and those that came latest were rams, 
proving that animals go longer with males. 

WATER AND WATERING PLACES. 

Every farmer should have a good watering place con- 
nected with his barn-yard, if possible, and it can gener- 
ally be done at a small expense. It is not only a great 
advantage to stock, but it makes a great saving of ma- 
nure. 

When animals have water in or near the barn-yard, 
they will drink as they need it, and keep in better con- 
dition. When the water is far off, they often go without, 
even when they suffer for want of it. The distance, and 
often deep snows, and a cold blast, prevent their quench- 
ing their thirst at all times, as they would if water was 
at hand ; and when very thirsty they drink to excess, 
and thus injure themselves. 

In many cases, cattle, after going a distance for water, 
meet with troubles. The supply may be insufficient, or 
the water may be covered with drifting snows, or the ice 
may have accumulated so that the water is reached with 
great difficulty. Strong animals molest the weak ones 
on the way, or exhibit their domineering spirit by driving 
them from the water, or preventing their approaching it. 

These evils can only be properly remedied by having 
a good supply of water in the barn-yard, or very near it ; 
but if this cannot be done, provide, in a trough, or by 
other means, a good supply of pure water, of convenient 
access : keep it well cleared of snow and ice, and see that 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 31 

the weaker animals are protected from the encroach- 
ments of the strong and tyrannical ; if it be exposed to 
the north, pat up a high board fence, or other protection, 
on that side, near the water. 

In summer, stock should not be doomed to get an 
nsuthcient quantity of water from a mud-hole, as is often 
ise, when the fountain is small ; but a good trough, 
ur other vessel should be provided as a reservoir, that 
v/ill hold enough for the whole stock, and these should 
be often cleaned out. that the water may be pure. 

We made the following arrangement where the sup- 
ply was small, and one or two animals would drink 
near'y all the water in the spring or fountain, and roil 
the rest. A duct was laid some feet, to give the water 
a little elevation. This was covered with earth, and the 
spring was also covered over. From the duct the watef 
inducted into a large trough, and then it ran into a 
half hogshead tub. In this way. a good supply of pure 
water was provided for the whole stock, when they all 
to slake their thirst. These vessels were often 
emptied, and washed out clean. 

Some farmers have provided a good supply of water 
in their barn-yards, at a cost of fifty or one hundred 
dollars, and would not now be deprived of it for the 
interest oi rive hundred dollars. It is less labor to pump 
water for stock at the yard, than to go some distance, 
ceep it clear of snow and ice. and see that the 
weaker animals can drink ; besides the great saving of 
manure. 

Cold, hard well-water, is very injurious to animals 
that are heated. It should stand awhile befure using. 
Hard water, of a suitable temperature, is not injurious 
to animals that are accustomed to it. Sometimes a 
»e from soft to hard water has an unfavorable effect 
for a few weeks. 

COOKING FOOD FOR HORSES AND CATTLE 

If grain be ground, it is more easily digested for this 
operation, and there is not so much need of cooking it. 
Green food, su?h as roots, grass, green corn fodder, and 



32 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

other herbage, is easily digested ; but in steaming dry 
hard fodder, it is softened, and affords more nutriment 
In this way, straw was substituted for hay, where con- 
siderable grain or meal was used, in an experiment 
made in England, on ninety head of cattle and horses, 
in which a saving of sixty-seven pounds was made. The 
cost of cooking was only five pounds. 

In some cases it has been found profitable to cook 
potatoes and other roots, for horses and cattle, and there 
is no doubt that meal of any kind is greatly improved by 
cooking, but whether this improvement is sufficient to 
pay the expense and trouble, is another question. Mix 
up bran with a small quantity of water, and it appears 
much like sand, add more water, and it seems thin and 
light, but put it over the fire, and boil it a short time, 
and the whole mass becomes thick, and evidently 
greatly improved. 

As to the economy of cooking food for cattle and 
horses, much depends on circumstances, such as the 
price of food and fuel, and the value of labor. Some 
thing depends, likewise, on the convenience for cooking. 
Some can cook food with half the labor and fuel that 
others can, owing to improved apparatus for the purpose. 

Horses, cattle and sheep, are accustomed to the use 
of coarse food, and their powers of digestion are great j 
therefore there is not so much need of cooking food foi 
them as for hogs, which thrive far better on cooked 
food. 

SYMPTOMS OF DISEASES. 

The following is from the American Agriculturist: — 
A full and frequent pulse, loss of appetite, dejected head, 
and a languid or watery eye, with a disposition to lie 
down in a dark or shady place, are certain marks, in all 
brute animals, of one of the most frequent diseases with 
which they are affected — that is, the fever. The watery 
eye, an inability to bark, or barking with a sterterous 
hoarseness, indicate the approach of madness in the dog. 
The elevation of the hair on the back of a cat, and its 
not falling upon its feet when thrown from a moderate 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 33 

height, are the premonitory signs of that disease which 
has lung proved fatal to that species of anima.. both in 
Europe and America. The tail of a horse kaing its regu- 
larity of motion from side to side, indicate that tie is indis- 
posed, and the part in which the disease is seated is 
pointed out by one of his ears inclining backwards to the 
side affected. The seat of disease in the abdomen, 
where the signs are concealed, may be known by press- 
ing the hand upon his whole -belly. When the diseased 
part is pressed, he will manifest marks of pain. 

PHYSIC. 

There are few medicines so much abused as purga- 
tives. They are often given without any reason, fre- 
quently in powerful, and injurious, and sometimes ir_ 
fatal doses. Many animals, particularly horses, are 
destroyed by excessive doses of physic. Yet purgatives 
judiciously administered, are highly useful. 

In inflammatory complaints, by rapid evacuations 
from the bowels, they expel the chyle, and cut off tem- 
porarily the supply of nutriment, and they promote the 
secretions on the inner coat of the intestines, drawing 
from the fluids of the body, and reducing the circulation ; 
and thus they relieve an affected organ, or abate a gen- 
eral inflammation. 

Physic removes from the stomach and bowels causes 
of irritation, and gives rest to the digestive organs which 
have been over-tasked, and relieves the stomach which 
has been overloaded. 

By the moderate use of physic, together with proper 
attention to diet and general treatment, many diseases 
may be cured, which are now generally treated with 
bleeding and other harsh modes. 

In chronic and slow diseases, it is best to prepare the 
animal for one. two, or three days, if convenient, by 
giving mashes, as this will loosen the bowels, and not 
only require a less dose of physic, but it will be more 
effectual in its operation. 

But the most important consideration is, that the bow- 
els being open, the purgatives can freely operate without 



♦34 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



any obstruction, and obviate the danger that attends 
giving physic when the bowels are constipated, which 
is like the working of cider in a cask that is bunged, 
and sometimes produces severe and fatal cases of colic. 

But if the disease be acute, and of so great severity 
that it will not admit of delay to prepare for physic, then 
a clyster should be given to aid the operation of physic, 
and if the bowels are constipated and apparently dor- 
mant, give some stimulant with the purgative, as gin. 
ger; and give an exciting injection to evacuate the 
bowels, and make way for the physic, and to rouse to 
healthy action the sluggish intestines. 

In cases of very obstinate constipation of the bowels, 
ten or fifteen grains of the farina of the Croton nut, 
freshly prepared, may be added to the dose of physic, for 
horses or cattle. This is very powerful. [See under 
each species, the kinds of physic adapted to each, and 
the quantity for a dose.] 

DIURETICS. 

Diuretics cause a copious flow of urine, reducing the 
circulation, tending to abate fevers and inflammatory 
complaints. Several diseases are mitigated by the use 
of diuretics, and they may be used in some cases instead 
of bleeding, w T hich it is desirable to avoid, as it is a 
harsh course of treatment. 

In swollen legs, cracks, or dropsical affections, and in 
grease in horses and foul foot in cattle, or any unnatural 
enlargements by fluids, diuretics are given to great ad- 
vantage. They are good to alternate with other medi- 
cines, in the treatment of mange, and other cutaneous 
diseases. 

But in all accumulations connected with debility, they 
may do harm. We may remove swellings and extrava- 
sations to-day, and they may return to-morrow. In 
such cases, we must strengthen the system by tonics, 
proper feeding, and mild exercise ; and aid the local 
debility by hand rubbing and bandages. 

There must be caution in the use of diuretics, for 
as they produce a powerful effect on the kidneys, by 









DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 36 

increased secretions in these organs, there is danger of 
injury and debility from over-action. [See Diseases of 
the Urinary Organs in Horses.] 

Diuretics are used nvjre in the treatment of horses, 
than m cattle practice. The following are diuretics : — 
rosin, turpentine, juniper, gin, saltpetre, honey, potash, 
digitalis, squills, tobacco, and cream of tartar. Many- 
kinds of food have a diuretic effect, such as apples, 
pumpkins, roots generally, green corn-stalks, and most 
kinds of green herbage, at first. [For the principal diu- 
retics in use, and the dose, see this subject under Horses 
and Cattle. For sheep, use the same as for cattle, only 
one eighth part as much for a dose.] 

The following is good, as a general diuretic drink : — 
Powdered saltpetre, two drachms; powdered rosin, half 
ounce ; ginger, two drachms ; mix well together in a lit- 
tle molasses, and give in warm gruel. 

SETON OR ROWEL. 

A seton is a piece of leather, cord, coarse tape, braided 
horse-hair, or tow, passed, by means of a large needle, 
through the base of an ulcer or abscess, such as ulcer- 
ated poll evil, fistula, &c, to drain off the acrid and 
irritant humors ; or they are inserted between the skin 
and muscular, or other parts beneath, in a sound part, 
to create an artificial issue, and make a general improve- 
ment in the whole system, or relieve a neighboring 
affection. 

Setons are inserted in the breast of horses, and in the 
dewlap of cattle, in case of general inflammation, which 
is abated by a discharge of matter. They are also good 
m case of inward strains, and for swellings that cannot 
be dissolved. When the blood is in a bad state, a seton 
will draw off the foul humors, and thus improve the 
condition of the blood. 

in cases of local complaints, this general issue will 
draw superfluous humors from all parts of the body, and 
discharge them, and thus relieve the complaint. When 
the local affection is very severe, and will not yield to 
other treatment, a seton may be inserted near it, say 



36 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

a hand's breadth below it, which will excite a new and 
artificial inflammation in the vicinity of the old one, and 
thus reduce its intensity, giving a new direction to the 
Dlood and humors, and concentrate a part of the nervouy 
power on a new point. 

A seton should be tolerably thick, and from eight to 
twelve inches long, and before inserting it, dip it into 
spirits of turpentine, or other exciting matter. In 
cattle, insert the needle m the upper part of the*brisket 
or dewlap, and in the horse, in the breast, and bring it 
out four inches or more below the place of insertion. 
Fasten the seton by tying a large knot in each end. 

Matter will begin to ran the second day ; and after 
that, draw the seton up and down two or three times a 
day, to irritate the parts and increase the discharge 
When, for inflammatory diseases, or other complaints - 
you would produce a more copious discharge, rub th 
seton with blistering ointment. This will stimulate thr 
parts to action, and hasten suppuration. 

Clater says that the root of the common dock is a 
speedy and powerful seton for cattle, and the root of the 
black hellebore is still more powerful. The American 
hellebore, (Veratrum viride,) often called Indian poke, or 
poke root, strongly resembles the white hellebore (Vera- 
tum album) of Europe. Whether it is like the black 
hellebore here recommended, 'we cannot say. The 
American hellebore, or poke root, which grows in 
swamps, is very different from poke weed, (Phytolacca 
decandra,) generally called garget, also cocum and 
jalap, which grows on dry land, the root of which is 
much used in New England, in the dewlap of cattle, 
instead of a seton. [See Garget, under the general head 
"Cattle."] 

When there is a considerable discharge of matter, 
wash the place once a day in warm soap suds, and con 
tinue this after the seton is removed, while the sore is 
healing. 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 37 



Hi.r.^MNij 



Bleeding is practised as a very speedy icliet in some 
disorders. It reduces at once the circulation in the sys- 
tem, and diminishes nervous power. It is considered 
useful in the following cases : 

1. In all kinds of inflammatory complaints, whether 
general or local. 

2. In violent colds, catarrh, and influenza. 

3. When inflammation is apprehended from bruises, 
internal or external strains, wounds or injuries of any 
kind. 

4. When, from the exhibition of humors, as in cutane- 
ous eruptions, sores, swelling of the glands, &c, the 
blood appears to be in a vitiated condition. 

5. In cases of yellows in horses, and jaundice in cattle, 
attended with fever and constipation of the bowels. 

Bleeding does not remove the cause of disease, but it 
gives temporary relief, and sometimes saves from a sud- 
den and fatal termination, affording time and opportunity 
to remove the cause, and administer restorative medicines. 
We will suppose that there is a violent affection of the 
brain, by the determination of blood to that organ, that 
would prove fatal before medicines could operate, or a 
restorative course could be pursued. By bleeding, the 
circulation could be reduced immediately and relief 
afforded, and then by physic, diuretics, light food and 
other favorable treatment, the animal might be restored 
to health. 

In acute inflammation, it is not only necessary to bleed 
copiously, but it should be done speedily, and the blood 
should run largely, as more effect is produced on the 
disease by one quart taken quickly, in a full stream, than 
by double that quantity allowed to dribble down slowly ; 
as a powerful effect is produced on the disease, before 
the organs can accommodate themselves to the loss. 

The quantity of blood taken must depend on various 

circumstances, such as the nature of the disease, size and 

condition of the animal, &c. &c. in very sudden and 

violent cases, it is recommended to bleed freely, even till 

4 



38 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

the animal falters, and the force of the circulation is sen 
sibly reduced. In other cases, it is better to bleed mod- 
erately, or only slightly. 

This remedy should be used with sound judgment, and 
with great caution; for, though it sometimes arrests a 
disease at once, at other times it may take away what 
little remaining strength the animal has. 

Always catch the blood in a vessel, that the quantity 
may be determined. Give warm water after bleeding, 
and light food for several days, or longer ; if the animal 
l>e in a weak condition, and keep him dry and warm. 

We are aware that many, of very respectable authori- 
ty, are opposed to bleeding in almost all cases, whether 
in the biped or quadruped race ; and we must say that 
we regret to find that in works that are generally regard- 
ed as the best extant, bleeding is recommended for almost 
every disease that poor animals are liable to. Verily, it 
seems that the writers on the veterinary art are a blood- 
thirsty set. One, who is regarded as high authority, in 
treating of twenty-nine different diseases incident to one 
species of animals, recommends bleeding in twenty-three 
cases ; directing to bleed the poor creatures to the amount 
of six, eight, or ten quarts, or until they faint and fall, 
and, in some cases, repeat the operation. 

The English term, cow-leech, is very appropriately ap- 
plied to a cow-doctor, as they draw blood so profusely 
They are leeches in very deed. The English veterina 
rian surgeons bleed for most disorders. 

Although bleeding to so great an extent as reconi 
mended by foreign authorities, and as practised by some 
in this country, who follow in their track, is, by no 
means, to be recommended, yet there are two reasons 
why bleeding may be more necessary in animals than in 
the human subject. 

1. The animal is often very severely attacked before 
it is known that he is diseased, and some very powerful 
remedy is necessary, and that which will produce a very 
sudden effect; on the contrary, the human patient can 
give notice of disease at its first approach, when it i.» 
more easily subdued. 



iff h' o nA^rortiil vom&riiT 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 39 

and in numerous cases an excellent substitute for bleed- 
ing, as it subtracts very largely from the blood, reducing 
temporarily the circulation, producing debility, and puri- 
fying the blood ; this may be practised conveniently in 
the human subject, but in animals it is very difficult. 

In i his work, we have preferred other remedies to that 
of bleeding, so far as others seemed efficacious, as shown 
by practice ; but as all works on the diseases of animals 
have run so much on bleeding, and as this has been the 
practice to a great extent, it is impossible to avoid intro- 
ducing bleeding occasionally, in giving the modes of treat- 
ment that have been generally pursued ; as few or none, 
who are opposed to bleeding, as a general thing, have 
given their views to the public on the treatment of ani- 
mals. Mild means one preferable to bleeding. 

As we give the modes pursued by those who practise 
bleeding, all who prefer that way can pursue it, and of 
course they wall not complain ; whilst those who depend 
more on other remedial means, will find that we have 
given various other remedies and modes of treatment, 
which may generally be substituted for bleeding by those 
who prefer them. Among the substitutes, are purga- 
tives, diuretics, setons, abstinence, light feeding, astrin- 
gents, anodynes, sedatives, <5cc. &c. Abstinence is far 
preferable to bleeding, as it is more convenient, more 
pleasant, and more economical ; and in many cases, it 
will answer the same purpose, not only checking the 
disease, but removing the cause. 

[See further directions and remarks on this subject, 
under different species of animals.] 

BACK-RAKING. 

This process is very useful in cases of fever, costive- 
ness, colic, and other diseases, in order to favor the oper- 
ation of purgatives and injections • for in these diseases, 
the dung in the rectum, or straight gut, becomes dry and 
hard, to the great inconvenience of the animal, and se- 
rious disadvantages as to the operation of medicines. 
When he has not dunged for some time, and a fulness 
is perceived about the flank and fundament, back-raking 
should be attended to, as follows : 



40 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

Let the operator strip his arm bare, and having well 
anointed it and his hand with soft soap, lard or butter, 
preferring the first, the fingers should be brought to a 
point, and the hand gently introduced into the rectum 
and draw away the indurated faeces. This should be 
done several times, and then the animal should be left to 
himself a short time, while a drink for physic, or an in- 
jection, or both, as the case may be, is preparing. This 
simple process often affords much relief, and it is imme- 
diate, which is important in cases of great distress. 

ACCIDENTS, &c. 

Accidents and various affections are incident to ani- 
mals, that are not readily perceived ; therefore they should 
be thoroughly examined, occasionally, in every point, 
especially young animals, and those not generally used, 
so as to allow of casual inspection, in order to see that 
no accident has befallen them, or that some affection is 
not creeping upon them imperceptibly, that will, neg 
lected, become a formidable evil. 

It is highly important that animals, be timely relieved 
from accidents, as sometimes a delay will prove fatal, 
and diseases of every description are far more easily 
cured, when taken in their first stages, than when they 
have 

" Grown with their growth and strengthened with their strength." 

A horse that appeared sick, was examined very atten- 
tively for the cause of complaint, and a piece of cob was 
found across the roof of his mouth, nearly stopping up 
his throat. This is only one among thousands of in- 
stances. There are numerous accidents and complaints 
with which animals are afflicted, that may escape the 
notice of a superficial observer, or that may occur on 
those animals not generally handled, and by neglect they 
may increase, from small beginnings, to severe and ohsti 
nate diseases. 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 41 



HOLDING THE TONGUE WHEN GIVING 
MEDICINE. 

That animals may swallow freely, and the medicine 
go down the right way, their tongues should be free. 
As a caution on this point, a case was related to us for 
publication. An ox, after eating hearty, and drinking 
late in the morning, was puffed up. On being worked, 
the swelling went down. On drinking again at night, 
the swelling returned. Some medicine was prepared, 
but the swelling had abated, and the ox was eating hay. 
The medicine was given, to prevent a recurrence of the 
disorder. It was given by holding his tongue out of his 
mouth, and pouring the medicine down his throat. He 
breathed not again, but fell down, and died immediately. 

On examination, his windpipe, for eight inches in 
length, was completely filled with chewed hay. It is 
supposed that on holding the tongue, the windpipe is 
open, and is liable to receive whatever is poured down 
the throat ; and the reason that no more injury is done in 
this way, is because the medicines are generally liquid. 

Pouring medicine down the throats of animals, with 
the tongue held, generally occasions coughing, which is 
doubtless owing to some of it going down the wrong 
way. The use of those parts connected with the roots 
of the tongue, is doubtless necessary in closing the 
passage into the windpipe, which is effected in the act 
of swallowing in the natural way. 

MODE OF GIVING LIQUID MEDICINE. 

Sometimes, when medicines have no nauseous taste, 
animals will drink them voluntarily. Or, if refused in 
this state, they may be induced to take them in palata- 
ble food. But there are numerous cases in which it is 
necessary to turn the medicine down the throat. Some 
use a junk bottle for this purpose ; a horn is better, as a 
bottle is liable to be broken. In using a horn, stop up 
the large end, and pour from the small one, as it is less 
liable to waste. 

4* 



42 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



MASHES. 

Mashes of bran and shorts are a soft diet, and highly 
valuable for many purposes. They relax the bowels, 
and prepare them for administering physic with safety 
and good effect. They will, in common conditions, 
operate gently on the bowels, clearing out their con- 
rents, and thus save the necessity of resorting to purga- 
tives. When horses are not used on Sunday, a bran 
mash may be given on Saturday night, instead of grain, 
which will have a favorable effect, and prevent injury 
from full feeding, while at rest. Mashes are very useful 
to horses in high condition. 

As a food, mashes are remarkably soothing, cooling, 
and emollient. In all inflammatory complaints, and other 
disorders, when light feeding and laxative food are rec- 
ommended, this will be found a most excellent article of 
diet, as it fills the stomach, affording the stimulus ol 
distention, without furnishing much nutriment. It is 
like keeping the fat and gouty patient, who has had 
more than his share of the good things of this life, on 
turnips, or on bran or saw-dust pudding. 

Mashes may be made of ground malt, bran, or shorts, 
or other similar substance, in hot or cold water. When 
the animal is in a weak or low condition, boiling water 
should be poured on the substance, so as to wet it well, 
then stir it thoroughly, and when lukewarm, give 
it. By boiling bran or shorts a short time, the water 
becomes thick, like mucilage ; and we have no doubt 
that this process renders it more valuable as food, and 
more soothing. 

In cases of catarrh or sore throat, or any intestinal 
affection, an emollient mash may be made by adding to 
the bran or shorts, a decociien of linseed or oil cake. 

FOMENTATIONS. 

These are highly valuable in opening the pores of the, 
skin, and keeping up perspiration in the part, and thug 
abating local swellings, relieving pain, and lessening 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 43 

inflammation. Hot or warm water may be used, or a 
decoction of any herbs. The principal virtue is in the 
warmth of the water or decoction. In obstinate cases 
of diseases, fomentations should be often applied, and 
continued long. They have a very soothing and san- 
ative efiect. 

POULTICES. 

An external application for producing inflammation, 
promoting suppuration, cleansing and preparing wounds 
or sores for healing ; for mitigating pain, and pre\ entmg 
mortification. 

Poultices are generally prepared with linseed meal, to 
which is added oil. lard, or other greasy matter, to pre- 
vent adhesion to the parts, and keep up the moisture for 
a longer time. Indian meal may be used instead of 
linseed meal, but it is not quite so soothing. 

A good scattering poultice, to reduce inflammation, 
may be made of equal parts of hops, Indian meal, and 
pulverized slippery-elm, mixed with a strong decoction 
of raspberry or other astringent liquor. Any powerfully 
astringent substance may be used as a scattering poul- 
tice, and meal is good to form a body. 

A poultice may be rendered more soothing by adding 
opium, or more active and drawing by adding turpen- 
tine, or chloride of lime. 

For old sores or ulcers, the chloride of lime is excel- 
lent to add to the poultice ; so is finely powdered char- 
coal ; and both of these substances are good to prevent 
mortification. 

The pulp of roasted carrots is a most valuable poul- 
tice for cleansing and healing old sores or ulcers. 

Alum curd is a valuable application for ulcers. It 
has a very healthy effect, and tends to prevent mortifi- 
cation. Prepare it by putting powdered alum into new 
milk. No matter if there be more than will dissolve. 

Wheat flour, mixed with molasses, and applied as a 
poultice, is somewhat drawing, and hastens suppuration. 
It is much used on boils to bring them to a head, that 
they may break, or be prepared for opening. 



44 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



CAUSTICS. 

Butyr (chloride) of Antimony is certain for destroying 
proud flesn, or otherwise unhealthy surface to which it 
is applied ; and its destructive power is confined to the 
surface. 

Lunar Caustic (nitrate of silver) is an excellent reme- 
dy for proud flesh. Wet a stick and rub a little on the 
part you would have affected by it. 

Burnt Alum is a good caustic for the destruction of 
proud flesh. Sometimes it is not sufficiently powerful. 

Blue Vitriol, (sulphate of copper,) one ounce pow- 
dered, and dissolved in a pint of water, forms a mild 
caustic. The powder, sprinkled on the sore or wound, is 
still stronger. 

DISINFECTANTS AND ANTI-PUTRE SCENTS. 

These are diloride of lime, plaster of Paris, charcoal, 
and gum myrrh. 

Chloride of Lime. — After contagious or infectious 
diseases in the cattle-house or stable, the walls, floor, and 
furniture should be washed a few times with it, and then 
the sound animals may return in safety. Applied to the 
pudenda of the cow, that has aborted, it destroys that 
peculiar odor which causes abortion in others, more effec- 
tually than any other preparation. 

In blain, foul in the foot, and sloughing ulcers of every 
description, it removes the fetor, and if decomposition 
has not proceeded too far, it gives a healthy surface to 
the ulcers. Administered internally, in blain, in the ma- 
lignant epidemic, and in diarrhoea and dysentery, it is 
highly useful. In the last disease, it is very beneficial in 
changing the nature of the discharge, depriving it of its 
putridity and infection, and disposing the surface of the 
intestines to take on a more healthy character. 

Half an ounce of the powder, dissolved in a gallon of 
water, will give a solution of sufficient strength, both as 
a disinfectant applied to the cow-house, and as an inter- 
nal or external remedy applied to the animal. 



] 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 45 

Plaster of Paris is a powerful disinfectant. It ab- 
sorbs putrid smells, exhalations, and unpleasant gases, 
and tends to purify the air around. It is used in 
stables to absorb the ammoniacal gas, and render the air 
more wholesome. 

Charcoal is, in many cases, used as a disinfectant, 
with wonderful success ; a piece of fish, or meat, becom- 
ing putrid, is rendered completely sweet by being boiled 
with a few pieces of charcoal. In the treatment of ulcers 
and foul sores, finely pulverized charcoal is used as an 
ingredient in poultices, as it absorbs the fetor, tends to 
cleanse the sore, and, from its powerful anti-putrescent 
quality, it prevents mortification. 

Some cases of mortification have been cured by this 
simple substance alone ; but of late years, pyroligneous 
acid, containing the same anti-putrescent quality, has 
been used for this purpose, and with wonderful success. 

Gum Myrrh is valuable. Apply it in a strong tincture 
of four ounces to a quart of alcohol. It is good to guard 
against mortification. 

CLYSTERS, OR INJECTIONS. 

Injections into the fundament are highly useful, when 
a speedy action of the bowels is required. Sometimes 
they are so obstinately constipated, the dung having be- 
come dry and hard, that physic will not remove the 
obstruction. In most cases of costiveness, clysters are 
more effectual in relieving and curing than purgatives. 
They should be used in all severe cases. 

Clysters may be made of soap suds, in the proportion 
of two ounces of soft soap to a gallon of water ; or for a 
more active operation, use half a pound of Epsom salts. 
In severe cases of colic and constipation, in order to 
open a way for the immediate action of physic, an excit- 
ing clyster should be given. 

Mild injections, such as herb teas, warm water, gruel, 
&c, produce effects only from their softening influence, 
and mechanical effect, in expelling the hardened faeces ; 
but exciting clysters have effect on the nerves, and influ- 
ence the whole bowels, producing copious discharges far 
beyond their reach. 



46 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

Soap has some exciting effect — salts increase it ; but 
the most exciting clysters are made by adding to a gallon 
of any common injection, as herb tea, or the like, half a 
pint of strong decoction of tobacco, or a great spoonful 
of fine Cayenne pepper. The pepper produces a more 
speedy action. Lobelia, added to an injection, has an 
exciting effect ; but if used liberally, it excites vomiting 
also. Any of these exciting substances, made up into a 
little ball, and put into the fundament, will excite the 
bowels and produce discharges ; and sometimes they 
answer the purpose of an injection. In severe cases of 
costiveness, back-rake before giving injections, as this 
will render them more effective. 

The importance of clysters is not sufficiently known. 
In numerous cases bipeds, as well as quadrupeds, are 
dosed and dosed with physic ; days pass without relief, 
and the bowels are almost ready to burst with the power- 
ful fermentation oaused by physic, when the use of liberal 
and exciting injections would afford immediate relief, and 
save the patient from days of distress, from prostration, 
and serious and permanent injury in the bowels. 

When the bowels are tender, or irritated, a soothing 
and emollient injection may be thrown far up the intes- 
tines, and brought in contact with the inflamed bowels, 
give relief and promote a cure by its soothing influence. 

For soreness and tenderness of the bowels, use a tea 
of either of the following substances, as a soothing injec- 
tion. Slippery-elm, bass wood (linden) bark, marsh-mal- 
lows, or flax-seed. Linden is similar to slippery-elm, 
but it has not so much virtue. 

For inflamed and irritated bowels, or over purging, 
use a decoction of either of the following astringent sub- 
stances : — Rosemary, barberry bark, cranesbill, hard- 
hack, raspberry, and chocolate or Jones' root. 

In locked jaw, or other affections, as sore or swelled 
throat, when the animal can take no food, nutriment may 
be given by injecting gruel. Let it be done in moderate 
quantities, that it may be retained. 

There are various modes of giving clysters. The old 
fashioned way is with a bladder and pipe, and this will 
answer. By elevating the bladder, the liquid vr.'l be 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 47 

injected from its weight. A syringe is good for this pur 
pose. A pretty good one may be made of tin. In Eng- 
land. Reed's stomach pump is used for this purpose, in 
preference to all other apparatus. 

ASTRINGENTS AND TONICS. 

These medicines are of a binding nature, and tend to 
the reduction of inflammation, and to constipation in the 
bowels ; on this account, while they are given, internally, 
to cure some disorders, it is necessary to use laxative 
food, such as mashes, potatoes, flee., or gentle physic, to 
keep the bowels in good condition. 

Opium, or laudanum, is a powerful astringent, and i> 
is also a good anodyne. It is used both for cattle and 
horses, for colic, spasms, locked jaw, &c. It should 
however, be given with great caution. It is mostly used 
internally. In fevers it irritates, but after a fever it 
soothes. The usual dose is one ounce of laudanum for 
a full-grown animal. 

Alum, as an astringent, is used both internally and ex- 
ternally. Catechu is a powerful astringent, and is often 
given to animals. It is mostly used internally, but as a 
tincture, it is good externally. It is generally used in 
connection with other medicines, entering into the dose 
to the amount of four drachms. 

Blue Vitriol {sulphate cf copper) is used internally, 
to check nasal discharges, and externally for hoof-ail, 
warts, and sometimes, lightly, in the treatment of wounds. 

Powdered Chalk is a valuable astringent in some 
cases, particularly as the alkali unites with the acid in 
the stomach and neutralizes it. There is much acid in 
the stomach of calves afflicted with dysentery ; hence 
the advantage of supplying them with a lump of chalk 
to lick. 

Black Cherry and Yellow Birch Bark are good 
astringents for the jaundice. 

Raspberry Leaf Tea is a mild astringent, and an ano- 
dyne. It is used internally and externally. It allays 
inflammation of the bowels, and fever, and tends to the 
reduction of external inflammation or swellings. 



48 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



Camomile is a mild tonic, and is sometimes given ui 
doubtful cases, when, from a mistaken view of the dis 
ease, a powerful astringent might do injury. 

ANODYNES AND SEDATIVES. 

Opium, or laudanum, is a powerful anodyne, as well 
as astringent. A decoction of poppy heads, which far- 
mers can raise, answers the same purpose, it being the 
same thing in another state. In human and animal 
practice, opium is used more than all other anodynes, by 
doctors of the old school. Thomsonian and botanic phy- 
sicians use American valerian and Cayenne pepper 

Fox-g-love, or digitalis is a valuable and powerful 
sedative, and is considerably used. There should be 
caution in its use, as it is far more powerful when fresh. 

A man was killed, in Boston, by taking a dose of 
fresh, the apothecary not being aware that it was so 
much stronger. 

Raspberry is a sedative^as well as astringent 5 it is a 
valuable medicine in numerous cases. It is not very 
powerful, but it is quite safe. 

American Valerian, or lady's slipper, (Cypripedium 
pubescensj) is a valuable anodyne. There are several 
varieties, but they differ very little in their virtues. 

Cayenne Pepper and Hot Drops are safe anodyms, 
and though stimulant at first, become sedative. 

STIMULANTS AND CARMINATIVES. 

These medicines, which warm and excite to healthy 
action those parts with which they come in contact, and 
tend to prevent flatulency and colic, are often used with 
the best success with purgatives, even in cases of inflam- 
mation; Hence ginger or other stimulants are added to 
aperient medicine, which greatly aid it in producing the 
desired operation; and hence the use of wine in low 
fever. The success of a purgative often depends as 
much on the stimulant accompanying it as on the med- 
icine itself. 

Ardent Spirits. Among the stimulants 






DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 49 

minatives, are all kinds of ardent spirits ; though some 
may be modiUed, or have other qualities from the addi- 
tion of other substances ; as gin is made a sedative by 
the addition of juniper berries ; and brandy is a power- 
ful astringent as well as stimulant, from the addition of 
the extract of oak to alcohol. 

Ginger is a stimulant as well as aromatic. 

A Warm Stimulant Drink. Powdered ginger, half 
an ounce; caraway seeds, six drachms; allspice, half 
an ounce ; in a quart of warm water-gruel, or ale. 

Cayenne Pepper alone, or in compositions, is a pow- 
erful and highly valuable stimulant in the human 
patient. It is excellent in colds, clearing the pipes and 
'ungs of phlegm ; and in low condition it warms and 
revives ; when the stomach is dormant, it rouses it to 
action, creates an appetite, and promotes digestion, and 
has many other favorable effects, when judiciously ad- 
ministered It is equally valuable for animals. 

It has been but little used in animal practice, there- 
fore we cannot give precise directions for its use ; but 
as it is powerful, it should be used in moderation. We 
have reports on few cases. A horse was drooping, and 
had no appetite ; as his pulse was regular, he evidently 
had no fever. Two table spoonfuls of Cayenne pepper, 
and a small portion of ginger and lobelia, were given to 
him in warm water ; and he soon revived and recovered. 
In another case, a horse had been driven nearly all day, 
ind he failed, and refused to go, from disease, fatigue, 
or t w ger ; and, a physician being in the carriage with 
his medicine chest, he gave him a pint of hot drops, (a 
Thcanpsonian preparation in which there is Cayenne,) 
and he immediately revived, started off with spirit, and 
cheerfully performed the rest of the journey, of about 
seven miles. In both of these cases, we think the dose 
was very large, — large enough for two. 

Hot Drops are considerably used, of late, for horses. 
They are good for colic, for cold shivering fits, for a 
dull, low state, as they warm into action the dormant 
bowels, promote digestion, and thus create a healthy 
appetite. They are one of the best medicines. 



50 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



AROMATICS AND STOMACHICS. 

Stomachics are soothing, emollient, warming, and 
strengthening. They allay irritation in the bowels, 
reduce soreness and tenderness, and they warm and 
excite to action, the bowels, when in a torpor or dormant 
condition. 

Powdered Caraway seeds are a good stomachic, but 
not equal to ginger, excepting in' cases of flatulency. 
Yet they may be used as an occasional change for gin- 
ger. Dose, from half an ounce to two ounces. Like 
ginger and other stomachics, it is often given in connec- 
tion with other medicines, such as purgatives and astrin- 
gents. 

Ginger is the best aromatic in the list of cordials. 
Dose, from half a drachm to four drachms. Gentian is 
an excellent stomachic and tonic, whether at the close 
of illness, or as a remedy for chronic debility. The 
dose varies from one to four drachms, and should be 
almost invariably combined with ginger. 

The following is an excellent stomachic : — Powdered 
ginger, half an ounce; powdered gentian, one ounce ; 
carbonate of ammonia, (volatile salts,) two drachms; 
infusion of camomile flowers, one pint. Mix for one 
dose. 

Sage, Pennyroyal, Peppermint, and other aromatic 
and warming teas, or essences, are good stomachics. 

TO STOP BLOOD. 

Cold water is often suflicient. Cobwebs applied to 
the wound, are a still more powerful remedy ; so is a 
strong alum water, or powdered alum. 

The soft, inner part of sole leather has a powerful 
effect in stopping blood. Scrape it fine, and apply it as 
lint, or apply a soft piece to the ruptured vessel. 

Charcoal, in fine powder or dust, is a good styptic ; so 
is a puff-ball. A strong decoction of sweet apple-tree 
bark has a very powerful effect in stopping blood, more 
so than most other styptics. 






DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 51 



LINIMENTS, OPODELDOC, EMBROCATIONS, 
OINTMENTS, &c. 

Opodeldoc. Three ounces common white soap ; one 
ounce camphor ; one eighth ounce oil of rosemary ; one 
eighth ounce of oil of origanum ; and one pint alcohol. 
Put all the articles but the soap into the alcohol, and when 
they are dissolved, cut the soap fine, and dissolve it in 
the alcohol, with a gentle heat. Pour into wide-mouthed 
vials or jars, to cool. 

Liquid Opodeldoc Take two ounces castile soap, 
instead of the common soap, as above. 

Opodeldoc to scatter Swellings. "Warm, over 
coals, one quart of proof whiskey, or other spirit, and 
dissolve in it half a pint of soft soap. When cool, put 
it into a bottle, and add one half ounee of camphor. 

Liniment. The following liniment has been long in 
use, and is in high repute, being found very efficacious 
for sprains, bruises, cracks, sores, wounds, rheumatism, 
external or internal, in beast or man ; and no family 
should be without it, or some other valuable liniment. 
Half an ounce spirits of hartshorn ; two ounces cam- 
phor ; one gill spirits turpentine ; half pint sweet oil j 
and one pint alcohol. Shake all together, and apply, 
rubbing it in with the hand. 

King of Oils. This name has been given to the fol- 
lowing preparation, from its valuable effects in curing 
wounds in animals, particularly horses. It has per- 
formed surprising cures : — 

1 ounce green copperas, {sulphate of iron.) 

2 " white vitriol, (sulphate of zinc.) 
2 " common salt, (muriate of soda.) 
2 " linseed oil. 

8 " molasses. 

Boil over a slow fire fifteen minutes, in a pint of 
urine ; when almost cold, add one ounce of oil of vitriol, 
(sulphuric acid,) and four ounces spirits of turpentine 
Apply it to the wound with a quill or feather. 

Embrocation for Strains, Bruises, and Rheumatism. 
Bay salt, four ounces ; oil of origanum, one drachm ; 



52 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

rub them well together, until the salt is reduced to a 
powder ; then add half a pint of vinegar, two ounces of 
brandy, and one quart of water. Bathe the parts fre- 
quently with this. It is good for cattle, horses, and 
men, when the skin is not broken. Fomentation with 
hot water should precede the application. Bay salt is 
made naturally in the bays of St. Ubes, at high tides in 
spring and fall. It is the purest and best for medical 
and culinary purposes, containing 960 parts of chloride 
of sodium in 1000. 

A Stronger Embrocation for deeply-seated strains. 
Spirits of turpentine, half a pint ; oil of origanum, half 
an ounce ; olive oil, a pint and a half; cantharides, one 
ounce. Mix together ; shake often ; keep in a bottle. 
Rub it in, morning and night. This is not intended to 
blister, and should it produce redness and tenderness, 
reduce it by adding olive oil. 

Rheumatic Embrocation. Neat's foot oil, four ounces j 
camphorated oil, spirits of turpentine, and laudanum, 
one ounce each ; oil of origanum, one drachm. Mix. 

Camfiiorated Oil, or Stimulating Embrocation. 
Camphor broken into small pieces, two ounces; olive 
oil, or spermaceti, one pint. Put them into a bottle j 
cork tight ; set it in a warm place, and shake it daily, 
until the camphor is dissolved. This is good for stiff- 
ness and swelling of the joints, rheumatism, &c. 

Cooling Ointment. Melt lard five or six times, and 
cool, by pouring each time into a fresh pailful of water. 
Then simmer it with sliced onions, and it will make an 
excellent cooling salve, almost infallible for inflamma- 
tions from taking colds in wounds. 

Blistering Ointment. One part of cantharides, 
(Spanish flies,) finely powdered; three of larrl, and one 
of yellow rosin. Melt the lard and rosin together, and 
add the flies when the other ingredients begin to cool. 
To make it more active, add one pint of spirits of tur 
pentine. 

Another. Yellow basilicon, one ounce ; powdered 
cantharides, three drachms ; spirits of turpentine, two 
drachms. This is applied to setons, to cause a more 
speedy operation, and a more powerful effect. 

Another. Melt together four ounces palm oil, and 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 53 

cm*, ounce rosin ; and when they begin to cool, add one 
ounce of finely powdered cantharides, and continue to 
stir the whole together till it is set. This ointment, if 
well rubbed in, will always blister, and never blemish. 

Ointment to promote the Growth of Hair. Cala- 
mine powder, (an ore of zinc,) finely rubbed down, two 
drachms ; levigated charcoal, one drachm ; liquid tur- 
pentine, one drachm ; lard, four drachms. Rub them 
well together; and then add one drachm of the last- 
named blistering ointment, and rub the whole together. 
Let this be well rubbed, but not hardly, into the part, 
morning and night. 

Healing, Cleansing Ointment. Lard, two pounds; 
rosin, half a pound ; melt together, and when nearly 
cool, stir in half a pound of very finely powdered cala- 
mine. 

Ointment. Equal parts of Venice turpentine and 
lard, beaten together. 

Compound, for Bruises in Horses or Cattle. One 
quart of vinegar; half an ounce of laudanum; and 
quarter of an ounce of sugar of lead. Mix well, and 
apply three or four Times a day. If possible, apply a 
flannel wet with the mixture. 

Vinegar and Salt. Strong vinegar saturated with 
common salt, used warm, is good for strains, and for 
reducing swellings. 

For Swellings. One ounce of white vitriol; one 
ounce of green copperas ; two tea-spoonfuls of gun -pow- 
der. Pulverize all, and dissolve in a quart of soft water. 
Use cold, rubbing it on thoroughly. A skilful physician 
informs us that he finds this powerful for the reduction 
of swellings. It was given to him by a man who had 
used it extensively and successfully on animals. 

POISONS OF VARIOUS KINDS. 

YEW. 

The tender branches of yew are poisonous to horses, 
cattle, sheep and deer ; and yet these animals have eaten 
of yew without injury. It is said to be harmless when 
5* 



54 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

the animal has azotized food. Horses and cattle will 
graze by the side of growing yew, even hedges, and not 
touch it ; but when it is dry, the appearance is changed, 
and then they will eat it freely. 

Symptoms. They are affected in the brain, and with 
reeling and vertigo. They usually die suddenly. 

Remedy. Give to full-grown horses or cattle, one 
and a half pints of linseed oil each. 

Another. Give a strong dose of physic, in a pint ol 
gruel, to which add a gill of vinegar. 

CHERRY LEAVES. PEACH LEAVES. 

Several cases have occurred in which cattle and sheep 
have been poisoned by eating the leaves of the wild 
cherry ; the tame cherry is equally poisonous. It has 
been stated that cherry-leaves are free from poison until 
the leaves have wilted, but cases have occurred in which 
the green leaves have poisoned animals. It is said that 
they contain Prussic acid. Peach-leaves are said to con- 
tain Prussic acid also, and they are supposed to be poi- 
sonous. 

Remedy. CO. Kimball, in the "Massachusetts 
Ploughman," recommends as a remedy a pint of New 
England rum, mixed with a pint of molasses, and given 
to each grown animal. Salt would doubtless be benefi- 
cial, as it is useful in cases of poison from the bite of 
snakes, sting of bees, &c. 

ELM BARK. 

A horse died from eating elm bark. On post mortem 
examination, it was found that the bark had produced a 
violent inflammation of the intestines. 

LOW LAUREL OR LAMBKILL. 

Sheep and calves will eat of low laurel, (Kalmia angus- 
tifolia,) in the winter and spring. They swell a little, 
grow stupid, and throw up greenish fluid, which runs 
out of the mouth, discoloring the lips, 

Remedy. Gag the animal, that the fluid may be 
thrown out, and not swallowed, and give roasted onions 
and sweetened milk. 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 55 

Another. Bruise well the green twigs of white ash ; 
boil them one hour, in water enough to cover them when 
pressed down. Two table-spoonfuls will generally cure, 
if given within twenty-four hours of the poisoning. 

Another. Take two quarts of pure red or yellow 
earth from under the surface soil. Pour on water 
enough to cover it. After ten or fifteen minutes, drain 
off the water, and give two or three table-spoonfuls for a 
dose. Give three or four doses, at short intervals. 

Another. Give a gill of sweet oil, or castor-oil, — 
lard or fresh butter will answer, — in a pint of new milk, 
to each animal. In addition to any of these remedies, 
give salt freely. • 

beech-nuts. 

These are a good food for swine, a favorite with 
pigeons, and much admired by human bipeds ; yet both 
the oil and the cake that is left after the oil is pressed 
out, are fatal to the horse, and have caused death in 
twelve hours. 

water parsley and water dropwort. 

Water Parsley has produced palsy in the horse. Wa- 
er Dropwort has poisoned brood mares, and it has poi- 
soned cattle early in the spring. 

CROWSFOOT AND WATER HEMLOCK. 

Crowsfoot, of some species, and Water Hemlock, have 
poisoned cattle in the spring, before other herbage started. 

garget, or poke weed, (Phytolaca decandra.) 

The root of this plant, which is excellent for cattle, 
taken internally, or used as a seton in the dewlap, for 
the garget, is very poisonous to the horse. An ear of 
corn, with garget root in the pith of the cob, was sriven 
to a horse, and it killed him. A dose of garget was 
prepared in meal for a cow ; she refused it and it was 
given *.o a horse, and was fatal. 



56 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



MAYWEED. 

Mayweed, (Anihemis cotula,) or wild camomile, has 
sometimes poisoned the horse, and produced death. He 
will not eat it green, but will when mixed with hay. 
We have taken a decoction of this plant, in strong doses, 
for a cold, (not being aware that it was poisonous,) for 
which it is very efficacious in producing perspiration, but 
we were never pleased with the taste nor the feelings 
produced from its use. 

GENERAL REMARKS. 

One of the best remedies for poisons is the use of the 
stomach-pump, by which water is thrown freely into the 
stomach, which often excites vomiting and gives relief, 
if this fails, the water may be drawn out, and the opera- 
tion repeated. In this way the poisonous matter is 
diluted and removed. 

Most vegetable poisons are acids, and alkalies will 
neutralize and destroy them. Ammonia, lye of wood- 
ashes, and pot and pearl ashes, are used for this purpose. 
We have inquired and sought in vain for a remedy for 
cattle that eat white lead, by licking paint on buildings. 

BITES OF SNAKES. 

Cut the wound and squeeze out the blood ; then apply 
fine salt or some alkali, as named above. Give inter- 
nally half a pint of olive oil, or rape oil, or half an ounce 
of volatile salt, dissolved in a quart of water. 

We were told, in Pennsylvania, that a sure cure for 
the bite qf poisonous serpents was cutting the wound to 
make it bleed, applying fine salt and pulverized gun- 
powder, and keeping the patient on sweet milk, until 
sickness ceased, which is generally in two or three days. 

WOUNDS. 

Dr. James Bates, Superintendent of the Insane Hos- 
pital, Augusta, Me., says, in the "Boston Cultivator," 
"The best possible coatings which can be applied to 
injured parts are, first, the blood, then the serum, the 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 57 

coagulable lymph, afterwards the matured matter. It is 
the business of art to assist nature, and do that which 
she cannot do. In cuts and lacerated wounds, she has . 
made no provision for bringing the sides mto immediate 
contact. This should be done in the first place; and 
when this is impossible, then bring them as near as may 
be. with the least pain and irritation. 

' 4 In all cases of man or beast, if we can bring and re- 
tain together the sides of wounds by adhesive plasters 
and bandages, it should be done. If stitches must be 
resorted to, they should never remain more than thirty- 
six or forty hours, as they will have done all the good 
they are capable of in that time ; and they will do injury 
if they remain longer. No stitch should ever be used 
over or near an important joint. In some 'rare cases, it 
may be necessary to put straight needles through the 
sides of a wound, and wind them with ligatures in the 
form of a figure 8 ; but they should never remain more 
than forty-eight hours. 

" Discard healing-salves and plasters, as the healing 
process is carried on by the living functions of the ani- 
mal, and not by what is applied. Applications are use- 
ful, not for their healing properties, but simply to exclude 
the air, and allow nature to do her work, and we should 
use the most inoffensive and least stimulating covering, 
such as one part of beeswax and two parts of lard, melted 
together. 

" If the granulations become spongy, and a great flow 
of matter takes place, apply powdered rhubarb daily, or 
even some more powerful astringent, if necessary ; this 
will give tone to the granulations. Should the matter 
from the wound become thin and bloody, attend to the 
general health of the animal. Old sores or ulcers, which 
refuse to heal, must be made new ones, by destroying 
the old surface by the knife, caustic or actual cautenng, 
(hot irons,) and then treat them as fresh wounds. In 
some such cases, setons or issues, in adjacent parts, may 
aid the cure." Here is the conclusion of Dr. B.'s judi- 
cious remarks. 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



SIMPLE CUT WOUNDS. 



When only small blood vessels are cut quite through 
they draw back, and the blood soon ceases to flow. 

When wounds made by sharp instruments are consid 
erable, they are generally attended by a flow of blood. 
If the effusion be great, and if, from its florid color, and 
flowing in jets, it appears to proceed from an artery, h 
must be quickly stopped. If there be no means of ap- 
plying pressure on the course of the artery, between the 
heart and the wound, the finger may be introduced into 
the wound, and pressed on the artery, to stop the blood 
till the artery can be taken up, or some means used to 
stop it. 

An instrument called tenaculum, which is a sharp, 
pointed hook, is the most convenient for taking up an 
artery to be tied. A double thread being wo,xed, and 
an open knot made on it, it is put over the instrument. 
The artery is then laid hold of by the point, and drawn 
out a little, the open knot is slipped over it, and firmly 
drawn, and the ends of the thread allowed to hang from 
the wound. Veins may be secured in the same way. 

If a blood vessel cannot be tied, and no means used 
to stop the effusion, fold a piece of linen rag to a quarter 
of an inch in thickness, and apply it to the orifice of the 
Dlood vessel, and press it with the finger, first wetting 
the rag in strong alum- water. [See directions to stop 
blood.] 

The cure of wounds is effected by adhesion or suppu- 
ration. When the sides of a fresh wound are brought into 
accurate contact, and kept together, they adhere very soon, 
and the wound soon heals, with little or no trouble. 
This is called healing by the first intention. The flesh 
of horses does not unite so readily by the first intention 
as that of other animals, and the wound is more likely 
to heal by suppuration. 

PUNCTURED WOUNDS. 

These are made by pointed instruments, splinters oi 
wood, bites, &c. They are more dangerous than cut 
wounds, as they excite more inflammation, and it is diffl 



DISEASI'S OF ANIMALS. QV 

cult to get the sides to adhere uniformly. When the 
orifice heals before the bottom of the wound, collections 
of matter are formed, which corrode the parts. Poultices 
are useful in such cases. Fomentations with a decoc- 
tion of camomile flowers may be preferable. It is some- 
times necessary to make an incision, to allow the col- 
lected matter to escape. 

CONTUSED AND LACERATED WOUNDS. 

In such wounds, the parts are torn or bruised, so as to 
leave the texture destroyed. There is less abearance of 
danger in these, as well as in punctured wounds, from 
the flow of blood usually being less ; yet there is the 
more to be dreaded. The danger of wounds is too often 
estimated from the flow of blood alone, yet from the most 
dangerous, there is sometimes no flow whatever. 

When the texture of the wounded parts has been com- 
pletely destroyed, or wounds have been neglected or 
badly treated, healing must be effected by suppuration. 
After the wound has been cleansed, and freed from all 
extraneous substances, such parts as are almost torn or 
squeezed off, should be removed. But if the parts are 
not much injured, there is a chance of their adhering, if 
placed as nearly as possible in their natural position. 
The wound should be carefully guarded against expo- 
sure, but not tightly bandaged. As it proceeds, it may be 
cleansed and softened, by washing with Castile or mild 
shaving soap. Some mild and emollient salve may be 
used to keep the parts soft and pliant. 

In case of inflammation, poultices may be used to 
bring on suppuration. A large, warm, oiled poultice, 
folded in a piece of thin linen or muslin, should be laid 
over the wounded and neighboring parts, and changed 
twice a day. Unless the injury is very severe, this 
treatment will probably soon bring on the formation of 
good matter, and the parts where the texture is com- 
pletely destroyed, will slough or mortify, and fall off. 
When this has happened, and the inflammation has 
abated^ the poultice should be discontinued, and some 
mild and soothing salve used to promote the healing. 

But sometimes, instead of the suppuration, there is 



60 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

violent inflammation, that causes a mortification in tne - 
vsurrounding parts, which is attended with danger 
When there is no indication of a suppuration, and morti- 
fication is apprehended, use a scattering poultice, (as on 
page 53,) to which add freshly burnt powdered charcoal, 
which is a preventive of mortification, from its disin- 
fecting and anti -putrescent qualities. 

WOUNDS IN THE JOINTS. 

These are very difficult to manage. A cure may be 
attempted by keeping the air from the wound, and bring- 
ing the sides into contact by adhesive plaster, and em- 
ploying poultices. An extensive wound in a joint is 
generally incurable. For joint or sinew water, burn a 
cork to a coal, pulverize it finely, and put the dust into 
the wound. 

MAGGOTS IN WOUNDS. 

These may be destroyed by tar or honey ; both are 
healing ; but tar is too harsh alone ; mix it with lard, 
and it will be equally good against worms. 

BROKEN BONES. 

The mending of a broken bone is by no means diffi- 
cult, when the parts covering the bone have not been 
injured. Let the limb be stretched, and the broken ends 
of the bone placed as nicely together as possible, and 
held in that position till a piece of stiff* leather, or thin 
wood, as a splint, is laid along, so that it may extend 
a few inches beyond the contiguous joint. This must 
be kept in its place by winding flannel, an inch and a 
half broad, and as long as may be necessary, around it. 

The splint should .be worn ten days or a fortnight ; 
and after it has been removed, the bandage should be 
continued moderately tight, till the limb has acquired its 
former strength. When any considerable swelling ap- 
pears, the bandage should be slackened, and tightened 
again when the swelling abates. When a bone is 
broken in more than one place, all the pieces are to be 
Drought into their proper place, and secured. 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 6l 

Sometimes a fracture is made, and a part of a bone 
protrudes through the skin. In such case, a wound 
must be made of sufficient length to allow the bone to 
be replaced; and it may be proper to remove some of 
the splintered portions by a saw or nippers. The splint 
and bandage must then be applied in such a way as to 
leave the wound accessible, that it may be dressed. 

Some persons kill an animal on his having a limb 
broken, supposing that there is no cure. But we have 
known cases of broken bones, that, by careful setting, 
splintering, and good management, have been cured, 
and with but little trouble. The following is from the 
Farmers' Cabinet : — 

BROKEN BONES CURED. 

An idea prevails with many persons, that broken bones 
of horses and other quadrupeds cannot be cured, owing 
to the difficulty of keeping the part sufficiently at rest 
during the time necessary for a broken bone to heal. 

I heard of a case, some months since, which was suc- 
cessfully treated in the following manner, viz. : — Two 
pieces of scantling sufficiently strong to support the 
horse, were placed over and parallel with him in the 
stable ; a piece of strong linen was then passed under 
him, and the two opposite ends confined to the scantling, 
so as to raise him from the floor ; a wooden box was 
provided with a bottom, two sides, and one end, com- 
posed of boards nailed together, and of sufficient length, 
width and depth to contain the leg from the knee to the 
foot, inclusive, besides a space of half an inch or more, 
on each side of the leg, to admit the necessary bandages, 
5ec., with the bottom cut away sufficiently for the foot to 
enter, and retain its natural relative position with the 

The broken leg was confined in this box, and treated 
in the usual manner, and the box, together with the leg 
from the knee to the foot confined in a horizontal posi- 
tion, or nearly so, by straps of leather passing over the 
horse's back, and the two ends confined to the box ; the 
horse was permitted to put his other three feet upon the 
floor, sufficiently to preserve a healthy action of the 
6 



62 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

limbs, but not so as to displace the broken limb in the 
box. A cure was effected in a few weeks. This was 
one of the fore legs. I see no difficulty in treating the 
hind leg, by partially suspending the animal in this 
iianner. and varying the other parts according to the 
Particular nature of the case. 

The following singular cases are from J. Sanford, of 
\larcellus, New York, as appears in the Genesee Far- 
mer : — 

YOUN& CATTLE THEIR OWN SURGEONS. 

I had a very fine young bull, which I found with his 
right fore leg broken, about half way between the knee 
and fetlock joint. The bone was not only broken, but 
appeared to be shattered in pieces for several inches, 
and pricked through the skin. I got him up, and, on 
three legs, he worked his way six or eight rods, to an 
open shed, where he could be by himself. I splintered 
and bound up the leg as well as I could, and left him for 
the night ; but in the morning, the bandage was off. 
He had got up, and moved about, and sometimes bear- 
ing on the foot, which had nothing but the skin and 
tendons to support it. I saw no way to manage it bet- 
ter, and gave it up, and sent for a man to kill him. 
But, on further reflection, as he ate well, and was con- 
tented to stay where he was, I concluded to let him live, 
if he would, and see how he would manage it himself, 
and let the leg alone. He kept in flesh ; would move 
about two or three rods, and I have seen it bent at 
nearly right angles. No appearance of healing the 
bones in sight, when the leg was bent, I concluded it 
would perish, and come off. In this manner he contin- 
ued, until the first days of May, near three months, 
when I moved him to a pasture, having good shade and 
water. 

Then he adopted a course of conduct for himself ; had 
his abode at a fine maple-tree ; would get up, feed 
round as far as necessary to get a good bite of grass, go 
to the water two or three rods, and back to his tree. In 
this way he continued about two months ; was in good 
health, gained in flesh, and, except the leg, appeared 



DISEASES OP ANIMALS. 63 

fine. The leg had been enlarging some time, and now 
was double the size of the other at the place broken, but 
as yet had no strength, and would yield to pressure and 
bend about, as he happened to hit or bore any weight 
upon it, and during this time, several bones had worked 
out of the wound, which still kept open, to which no 
application was applied, except his own tongue* which 
was very frequent. I saw him from day to day, and 
watched the progress until about the middle of July, 
when I found he could bear some weight on it, and was 
getting into shape ; and about one month more it became 
strong ; the wound had healed, and he walked as well 
as ever. The joints above and below were perfect, the 
leg straight, the length exact Avith the other, and as good, 
but for the odds in size. He was in fine condition, com- 
petent for all purposes by September, and fought as 
good a battle as others. When coming four years old, 
I fattened, and butchered him ; and sawed up the leg, 
and found an entire new bone had formed, of about 
three and a half inches in diameter, and graduated 
above and below so as to fit the former, and no appear- 
ance of the old one for six or more inches, which had 
doubtless been discharged as I stated above. 

Also. I have now a fine three year old steer, which 
had his thigh broken by the kick of a horse, at about 
seven months old. Him I left to manage as he might. 
He was in a distant pasture with a large lot of other 
young cattle ; took his own position wide from the 
rest, and in about two months he got well ; and now no 
one, without a close examination, would suspect that he 
had ever met with the accident. 

INVERSION OF THE RECTUM. 

Sometimes, from straining in dysentery, a portion of the 
rectum comes out of the fundament, and the animal can- 
not draw it back. Give a pint of castor-oil, with two 
drachms of opium, to a full-grown animal, as an ox or 
horse. The part protruded should be cleaned with soap 
suds ; then fomented an hour with a decoction of poppy 
heads, or other mollifying herb, and then gently return 
it. Cold wate*- should then be applied around the anus 



64 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



LOCKED JAW, OR TETANUS. 

This is the effect of some acute disease, and in some 
cases it is a symptom of approaching death. In most 
cases, yie muscles of the jaws become so contracted and 
rigid, that it is impossible to open the mouth to give food, 
or medicine, and the animal dies of starvation. In some 
cases, a tooth has been knocked out, and medicine given 
that has relieved and cured. 

Causes. Pricking in shoeing, running a nail or other 
thing into the foot, or other parts where there are many- 
nerves. Also, turning animals out on cold, wet nights, 
after hard work and perspiration, and over driving. 
Docking and nicking horses are causes, also. 

Symptoms. In the horse, there is a stiffness of the 
neck and tail, and a constant spasm of the muscles of 
voluntary motion It is seldom preceded by any serious 
illness, although the horse will appear dull for a few 
days. As it approaches, he gulps his water, (swallows 
with forcible action,) and quids his hay, (partly chews 
and lets it fall out.) He stands stiff, with his legs 
bracing, his tail quivering, and despair in his looks. 

In cattle, the animal is off his food, and ceases to rumi- 
nate, and stands with head protruded ; but as there is 
no dryness of the muzzle, or coldness of the ears, the 
attendant may not be alarmed, and not thinking of the 
locked jaw, the animal is neglected. He continues the 
same, rarely moving, and when made to turn, moves 
stiffly. By examining the mouth in season, the disorder 
may be known, and the animal saved. 

Remedy. At the Maryland Farmers' Club, Mr. Pearce, 
U. S. Senator, stated that he had a horse that stepped on 
a nail, and symptoms of locked jaw appeared eighteen 
days after. He being absent, no remedies were used 
till the third day, when the animal was bled, and aloes 
administered, but without effect. He could scarcely 
walk; his nostrils were distended and inflamed; nis 
breathing difficult; his tail stiff; he could not bend his 
neck, and could eat nothing but a little mash. 

Galvanism was then tried, in shocks as severe as the 
horse could bear. The currents were first passed through 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 65 

the head, and then applied at different points along the 
spine. His tail and neck soon lost their rigidity, he 
moved his limbs rapidly, and kicked smartly. These 
applications were repeated five or six times, with inter- 
vals of a day or two, beginning with slight shocks, and 
gradually increasing them. 

His neighbor insisted that he should also try his rem 
edy, which he said he had tried five or six times with 
complete success. Accordingly, the horse was plunged 
into deep water every day, and made to swim three 01 
four minutes. He improved slowly. In a fortnight he 
was turned to grass, and the harness put on him in a 
month. He became well, and as active and spirited as 
ever. 

Another. Some very severe cases have been cured 
by dashing thirty or forty pailfuls of cold water suddenly 
all over the animal, and repeating the operation, if neces- 
sary, at intervals of two hours. This was recommended 
by the late eminent Dr. Rush. A mare that seemed 
almost dead with locked jaw, was revived and cured by 
repeated applications of cold water. 

Another. Mix strong soft soap with pulverized chalk, 
so as to make them of the consistence of buckwheat bat- 
ter. Apply this to the wound that causes the locked jaw, 
or from which it is apprehended, and keep the chalk 
moistened with soap, until the wound begins to discharge, 
and the patient is relieved. 

Note. In cases of human patients, it is sai'd that the 
application of a piece of brass or copper, — if rusty the 
better, — a cent, for instance, is excellent for drawing a 
wound made by a nail in the foot, and thus prevents the 
locked jaw. In cases of a nail in the foot, we have used, 
and known others to use, with excellent success, the rind 
of salt pork, the flesh part applied to the wound, and, in 
severe cases, renewed every day. 

Another. English authorities recommend bleeding 
freely, almost to faintness ; and when the jaws have re- 
laxed, give gentle physic, and turn it down slowly, (in 
cattle or sheep,) that it may go into the fourth stomach, 
and not into the paunch, as it will if poured down at 
once. At the ame time, administer clysters every three 
6* 



66 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

hours, till there is an operation on the bowels. If th« 
physic does not operate in eight hours, repeat half doses 
every six hours. After purging is established, admin- 
ister some sedative, such as opium. Give the animal 
mashes at first, and then light food, sparingly. He will 
need many kind attentions. 

Another. It is stated in the " Boston Medical Jour- 
nal," that Dr. Isaac Heister, of Reading, Pa., cured a 
boy, sixteen years old, by the use of a solution of the 
extract of Indian Hemp, (Indica cannabis — but Apocynum 
cannabinum of Bigelow.) He directed an aqueous solu- 
tion, containing two grains to the tea-spoonful, to be ad- 
ministered at intervals ; and in the course of a few days, 
the patient was entirely relieved. 

RHEUMATISM IN THE JOINTS. 

Cattle and horses, from great exposure to cold and wet, 
particularly cows after calving, have a stiffness in the 
joints ; they sometimes swell, and cannot be bent without 
pain and difficulty. 

Remedies. Good shelter, and sulphur and ginger ; and 
rub the joints with camphorated oil, or spirits of turpen- 
tine. Turpentine and hartshorn are good. In bad tu- 
mors of the joints, rub on iodine. Use the solution of 
the chloride of lime with water, for ulcers about the 
joints. [For further remedies for rheumatism, see Lini- 
ments, &c, page 51. J 

INFLAMED AND SORE EYES. 

Causes are various ; sometimes from colds. It is often 
caused by a diseased state of the body, or head, and is 
only a symptom of disease. 

Remedy. Remove the cause. If the system generally, 
or the head, is diseased, restore it to a healthy condition. 
The eye is one of the most tender and delicate organs, 
and if its texture is destroyed, nature will not restore it. 
Therefore, put the body in that healthy state that wiL 
carry restoration to every diseased part ( anr 1 use only 
mild applications to the eyes. 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 67 

For Inflamed Eyes, foment them in a strong decoc- 
tion of raspberry leaves, or beech bark, or other astrin- 
gent tea. 

Anothe r . Put a handful of the inner bark of sassafras 
twigs, of one year's growth, into a pint of cold water ; 
let it stand several hours, and it will become a thick 
mucilage; wash the eyes out well with this. 

The Haw of the eye, in the horse, is a membrane that 
is used to clear the eye of dust and protect it from injury. 
It descends and returns with astonishing velocity. When 
the eye is inliamed, the haw hardens and projects ; and 
some ignorant persons cut it off, to the serious and last- 
ing injury of the poor animal. 

For Sore Eyes, wash them in Castile or other mild 
soap ; this will have a cleansing and curative effect. 
Warm milk and water is a soothing wash, and if honey 
or molasses be added, it will be still better. A weak lye 
of the ashes of beech bark is excellent for sore eyes. 

For Weak Eyes, wash them in warm milk in which 
camomile has been steeped. Raspberry tea is also good. 

FOR A FILM ON THE EYE. 

Pulverize loaf sugar finely, put it in a quill, and blow 
it into the eye. We have observed excellent success to 
attend this simple remedy. In some cases, sight has been 
restored when the animal had become completely blind. 

Another Remedy. An effectual mode of removing 
a film from the eye of an animal is, to apply a tea spoon- 
ful of molasses to the eyeball : so says one who has cured 
oxen, horses, cows, and sheep in this way. 

Another. Mr. Isaac Hamblin, of Livermore, says in 
the " Maine Farmer,' 1 if the left eye be injured, he puts 
a piece of fresh butter, as large as a hen's e§g, into the 
right ear ; and if the right eye be affected, into the left 
ear. If the film is of long standing, two applications 
may be necessary. It will remove it in a short time. 
He has tried this remedy for forty years, without failure. 

To Prevent a Film. If any horned creature should 
have a film growing on the eye, from a hurt, put in fine 
salt. It is a sure cure, but rather harsh. 



HORSES 



TERMS DENOTING THE EXTERNAL PARTS OF THE HORSE. 



1. Muzzle. 

2. Race. 

3. Forehead. 

4 Poll. 

5 Crest. 

6. Jowl. 

7. Gullet. 

8. Windpipe. 

'.). Point of the Shoulder. 

10. Breast o$ Bosom. 

11. Arm. 

12. Elbow. 

13. Girth. 
U. Flank. 

15. Sheath. 

16. Stifles. 

17. Withers. 

18. Back. 

19. Loins. 

20. Hip. 



21. Croup. 

22. Dock. 

23. Quarter. 

24. Thigh or Gaskin. 

25. Hamstring. 

26. Joint of the Hock. 

27. Ham or Hock. 

28. Common. 

29. Fetlock. 

30. Large Pastern. 

31. Small Pastern. 

32. Coronet. 

33. Hoof. 

34. Knee. 

35. Common. 

36. Fetlock. 

37. Heel. 

38. Large Pastern. 

39. Small Pastern. 

40. Hoof. 



The engraving on the left represents the English cart- 
horse, to which the highest prize of the Royal Agricul- 
tural Society was awarded, in 1843. These horses are 
of a large size, distinguished for strength and endurance, 
and are well adapted to slow, heavy draught. 



DESCRIPTION OF A GOOD HORSE. 

r 

The head should not be large, but rather light, and 
neatly, not abruptly, affixed to the neck j the eyes 
bright, full, rather prominent, and set well apart ; horses 
with white, or wall-eyes, cannot see well, and are more 
liable to be skittish ; eyelids thin and dry ; the quirl 
high in the forehead ; ears thin, narrow, erect, of mid- 
dling length, and not distant from each other ; forehead 



70 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

flat, not too large or square, and running nearly in a 
straight line to the muzzle ; nostrils capacious ; muzzle 
small and fine ; lips, thin ; mouth tolerably deep ; the 
jaw bones wide at top. 

The neck rather short and light, as the reverse, as 
well as a heavy head, induces stumbling ; it should not 
be gross and thick, nor large and deep, but rising strong 
and promptly from the shoulders and withers, and after- 
wards declining and tapering to the head, with a strong 
crest, and somewhat crowning at the top ; on the under 
part, the neck should be straight from the chest, and by 
no means convex. 

The shoulders capacious, of large extent, and spread- 
ing well back ; they should reach fairly to the top of the 
withers, which should be well raised, but not too high ; 
if the withers are low and flat on the top, the horse will 
be inclined to plunge and stumble ; the chest should be 
deep, rather broad, and full. 

The body substantial, deep, and round, a cylinder 
being the best form for capacity ; round horses have the 
best wind, as their lungs have full play, and they keep 
in the best condition, and require the least food; the 
back a plane of good width, handsomely rounded ; back 
bone straight, or with a trifling inclination, and rather 
short ; a very short back indicates strength, but not 
speed and action ; loins wide, and the muscles of the 
reins full and swelling on each side the back bone , ribs 
well rounded out ; the hip bones thrown well forward, 
forming a strong loin, with a sufficient space between 
the ribs and hip bones, which should be round; the 
buttocks deep and oval ; the rump level with, or not 
much elevated above, the withers ; the croup must have 
reasonable space, and not sink too suddenly, as that 
would set the tail too low, which ought to be nearly on 
a level with the back ; the dock should be strong, and 
well covered with hair. 

The hinder quarters should spread to a wider extent 
than the fore parts, and the hind feet stand further 
asunder than those before ; the thighs should be straight, 
large, muscular, and of considerable length ; the hock 
wide and clean ; the shank not too long, but flat, and of 



HORSES. 71 

sufficient substance, its sinew large and distinct ; the fet- 
locks long 5 the hocks should form an angle of such an 
extent as to place the feet immediately under the flank. 
The fore arms, like the thighs, should be large, muscu- 
lar, and of good length, the elbows not turning outwards ; 
the knees large, and lean ; the shank, or cannon bone, 
flat, strong, and not too long ; the tendon large ; the 
fore arm and shank must form nearly a straight line ; 
fetlock joints large and clean ; pasterns inclining to a 
certain degree, not too long, but large in proportion to 
their length ; the coronary rings not thick or swelled, but 
clean, dry, and hairy ; the feet neither too high nor too 
flat, and of size apparently a sufficient base for the 
weight they have to sustain ; hoofs, of color dark and 
shining, without seams or wrinkles, tough and strong, 
not hard like oak ; foot internally concave, sole hard, 
but not shrunk, heels wide and of middling height ; frog 
not too large or fleshy, but tough and sound ; the feet ' 
of equal size, should stand exactly parallel, so that the 
front or toe incline neither inward nor outward; the 
fore feet should stand perpendicular to the chest ; not 
too much under it, and they should be less wide apart 
than the fore arms ; the legs should not be loaded with 
hair. 

CHOOSING A GOOD HORSE. 

Besides regarding the most prominent marks of a 
good horse, there are many other things to be taken into 
consideration. Perfect feet are indispensable. A horse 
with bad feet is always unsafe -, he will trip, and is very 
liable to fall. Any tenderness or uneasiness about a 
horse's feet renders him unsafe. 

When a horse is offered for sale, the purchaser should 
ask one question, viz : — "Is he, in all respects, perfectly 
sound ? " Should a cheat be practised, damages could 
be recovered. View his feet and legs : large ridges on 
the hoofs, or very flat feet, discover a horse to be subject 
to founder ; large, gouty legs, with enlarged tendons, 
indicate strains and other injuries. Examine his hind 
legs with great attention, just below the hock, and inside 
the hind knee ; if there is anv unnatural prominence, or 



72 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

knot, unlike the other knee, it wears the appearance ol 
spavin, which renders a horse of but little value. Splent, 
which appears on the inside of the fore leg, and wind- 
galls, upon the ankles, are unpleasant to the eye, but 
seldom produce any other injury than stiffness, as he 
advances in years. 

Ride, yourself, for the purpose of trying his gaits and 
other qualities, as a rider accustomed to a horse by pri- 
vate signs, such as manner of riding, bearing on the bit, 
leaning forward or backward, holding the heels close to 
the sides, &c, can make a dull horse appear gay and 
spirited ; a wild horse, gentle ; a stumbler, sure-footed ; 
one that is blind, appear to see ; and a starting horse, 
free from that great objection, &c. Before mounting him, 
examine his knees, to discover if they are skinned, the 
hair off, or scarred. These are strong symptoms of his 
politeness, to a fault. Ride with your bridle loose, over 
an uneven ground ; if he is in the habit of stumbling, he 
will very readily inform you. Then approach some 
object offensive to the sight; if he appears much 
alarmed, you may judge he has long been in the habit 
of that bad practice. Ride him in all his different gaits, 
to ascertain if they are smooth, easy, and agreeable. 
Move him about a mile, out and back, in fully half 
speed ; frequently stopping him suddenly, to try his 
wind ; also if he is spavined. If his wind has been 
injured, he will blow unnaturally, making a loud 
wheezing noise, with great difficulty of breathing. 

When a horse is rode by any person for you to judge 
of his gaits, you should have him moved towards you, 
from you, and finally by you, that you may have the 
opportunity of discovering if there is any turning in or 
about his knees and ankles, before or behind. A well 
shaped horse will track as true, or his legs will follow 
each other in as direct a line, as the wheels of a "well 
constructed carriage. Hard steps, short going, and great 
apparent labor, is offensive to the sight, unpleasant to 
the rider, and fatiguing to the horse himself. 

The following judicious remarks on choosing a horsi 
are from Dr. Paul Jewett, of Rowley, who, some forty or 
fifty years ago, conferred an mportant favor on the pub- 



HORSES. 73 

lie by valuable directions for managing stock and treat- 
ing sick animais : 

" There is much pleasure and profit in the service of a 
good horse, and but very little of either in a bad one. 
There are many mean horses that make a good appear- 
ance when taken from the hands of a jockey. In pur- 
chasing a horse, then, trust not too much to the seller's 
word; let your own judgment, or that of a friend, be 
chiefly relied on. See that he has good feet and joints, 
and that he stands well on his legs. See that his fore 
teeth shut even j for many horses have their under jaw 
the shortest ; these will grow poor at grass. See that 
his hair is short and fine, for this denotes a good horse. 
Observe his eyes, that they are clear, and free from blem 
ishes j that he is not moon-eyed, or white-eyed ; for such 
are apt to start in the night. A large, hazel colored eye 
is the best. 

u Take care that his wind is good ; let him be fed on 
good hay for twenty-four hours ; take him then to water, 
and let him drink his fill, placing him with his head the 
lowest ; if then he will breathe free, there is no danger. 
See that his countenance is bright and cheerful. If his 
nostrils are broad, it is a sign that he is well winded : 
narrow nostrils, the contrary. 

" See that his spirits are good, yet gentle and easily 
governed. In travelling, mind that he lifts his feel 
neither too high nor too low ; that he does not interfere 
nor overreach, and that he carries his hind legs the 
widest. Age from five to ten is the best. There are 
many tricks practised by jockeys, to make horses appear 
young. Horses 7 teeth, when young, are wide, white and 
even ; the inside of their mouth is fleshy, and their lips 
hard and firm. On the contrary, the mouth of an old 
horse is lean above and below ; the lips are soft and easily 
turned up; their teeth grow longer, narrower, and of a, 
yellow color." 

7 



74 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



TO ASCERTAIN A HORSE'S AGE. 

The age of a horse is only determinable with precision 
by his teeth ; and that rule fails after a certain period, 
and is sometimes uncertain, even within that period. A 
horse has 40 teeth ; namely, 24 double teeth or grinders, 
4 tushes or single teeth, and 12 front teeth or gatherers. 
Mares have no tushes, in general. The mark which 
discovers the age is to be found in the front teeth, next 
the tushes. In a few weeks, with some, the foal's 12 
fore teeth begin to shoot ; these are short, round, white, 
and easily distinguishable from the adult or horse's teeth, 
with which they come afterwards to be mixed. At some 
period between two and three years old, the colt changes 
his teeth ; that is to say, he sheds the 4 middle fore teeth, 
2 above and 2 below, which are some time after replaced 
with horse's teeth. After three years old, 2 others are 
changed, one on each side the former; he has then 8 
colt's and 4 horse's teeth. After four years old, he cuts 
4 new teeth, 1 on each side those last replaced, and has 
at that age, 8 horse's and 4 foal's teeth. These last new 
teeth are slow growers, compared with the preceding ; 
they are the corner teeth, next the tushes, are called 
pincers, and are those which bear the mark : this mark 
consists in the tooth being hollow, and in the cavity 
bearing a black spot, resembling the eye of a bean. The 
tushes may then be felt At four years and a half old, 
these mark teeth are just visible above the gum, and the 
cavity is very conspicuous. At five years old, the horse 
has shed his remaining 4 colt's teeth, and his tushes ap- 
pear. At six, his tushes are up, and appear white, small 
and sharp, near about which is observable a small circle 
of young growing flesh ; the horse's mouth is now com- 
plete, and the black mark has arrived at, or very near, 
the upper extremity of the corner teeth At seven, the 
-2 middle teeth fill up. Between the seventh and eighth 
year, all the teeth are filled up, the black mark has van- 
ished, and the horse is then said to be aged, and his 
;mouth full. 

^From that time forward, the age of the horse can only 



HORSES. 76 

be guessed at from certain indications ; but these guesses 
are usually made with considerable accuracy by experi- 
enced people. If his teeth shut close, and meet even, 
are tolerably white, not over long, and his gums appear 
plump, you may conclude he is not yet nine years old. 
At that age, and as he advances, his teeth become yellow 
and foul, and appear to lengthen, from the shrinking and 
receding of the gums. The tushes are blunt at nine ; but 
at ten years old, the cavity or channel on the inside of the 
upper tushes, until that period to be felt by the finger, are 
entirely filled up. At eleven, the teeth will be very long, 
black, and foul, but will generally meet even ; at twelve, 
his upper-jaw teeth will overhang the nether; at thir- 
teen, and upwards, his tushes will be either worn to the 
stumps, or long, black and foul, like those of an old boar. 
Beside those exhibited by the mouth, nature ever fur- 
nishes a variety of signals, denoting the approach of old 
age and decay, tnroughout the bodies of all animals. 
After a horse has passed his prime, a hollowness of his 
temples will be perceived , his muscles will be continu- 
ally losing something of their plumpness ; and his hair, 
that gloss and burnish which is the characteristic of 
youth and prime, will look dead, faded, or entirely lose 
its color in various parts. In proportion to the excess of 
these appearances, will be the horse's age. 

The following are among the devices practised by a 
set of unfeeling rascals, who have no other rule of con- 
duct than their supposed interest to counterfeit the marks 
of age in horses. At four years old, they will frequently 
knock out the remaining colt's teeth, in order to make 
the horse appear five ; but you will be convinced of the 
fraud by the non-appearance of the tushes ; and if it be 
a mare, by a shortness and smallness of the corner teeth, 
and, indeed, of the teeth in general. To give an old horse 
the mark, is termed to bishop him ; from the name of a 
noted operator. They burn a hole in each of the corner 
teeth, and make the shell fine and thin, with some iron 
instrument, scraping all the teeth to make them white ; 
sometimes they even file them all down short and even. 



76 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

BLIND BRIDLES. 

" Look and reflect ; U3e your own intellect." 

" Yes, use your thinking powers, friends ; they were 
given you to use, and not abuse. Blind bridles! truly 
named, surely. Art never invented a more fatal thing to 
the eyes of horses than when she devised this plan of de- 
priving the horse of what nature intended he should enjoy. 
But, says one, how are blinders injurious to the horse ? 
Because they gather dirt and heat around the eyes 
Dirt irritates the eye, and heat produces inflammation. 
These bridles so entrammel the eyes of the horse that he 
is compelled to be constantly straining them, to see his 
way. The overexertion of the nerve brings on disease. 
Eyes were not made in vain. Had they been needless, 
the Creator would not have located them in the head. 
They were placed on the corner of the head that he might 
have the advantage of looking in different directions. 
Men, in the abundance of their wisdom, concluded the 
horse had too much sight, and they wished to curtail it ; 
hence the origin of blind bridles. Think of this seriously, 
and you will abandon the use of so destructive an ap- 
pendage. Remember, that blind bridles and diseased 
eyes are inseparably connected. Custom hoodwinks the 
senses of men as much as blind bridles do the vision of 
horses." — ("J. Maddock, Farrier.] 

We once liad a young horse that was so frightened on 
removing the blind bridle to bait him, which suddenly 
brought the chaise to his sight, that he was restrained 
with great difficulty, and would have cleared with the 
carriage, had he not been pent up by the fence. We 
never used the blinders again, but made him familiar 
with carriages before harnessing him. 

Without blinders, horses can see objects as they ap- 
proach them behind ; but when blinded, the object comes 
close and suddenly upon them, and often occasions af- 
fright. 



HORSES. 77 



CHECK REINS. 



The check or bearing reins of a horse answer no good 
purpose, but are a great evil ; a severe restraint and vexa- 
tion; confining his head in an unnatural position, by 
which he is constantly tormented. He cannot travel at 
ease, nor see impediments in the road, and, when he 
makes a misstep, is more liable to stumble. 

We have observed that the greatest travellers are those 
horses whose humane masters have allowed their heads 
to be free ; and as they draw a load up hill, a motion of 
the head is perceived, which supports the motion of the 
feet and legs, in the same way as a man, in walking, 
assists the motion of his legs by a counteracting motion 
of the arms. How would a man walk with his arms 
tied to his sides ? Let those who torment their horses 
with unnecessary restraint, try it on themselves. 

Besides these serious disadvantages in travelling, the 
horse, by the use of the fixed bridle, is in a painful posi- 
tion at all times ; even when standing, he cannot rest at 
ease, but is incessantly tossing up his head, to get momen- 
tary relief from this painful position ; which violent and 
constant action produces inflammation and ulceration on 
the point upon which the head articulates with the spine ; 
hence the poll evil, and here we have the reason for this 
formidable disorder being almost exclusively confined to 
carriage horses. 

We found, a long time since, by experience and obser- 
vation, that horses would travel better, perform more 
labor, and were less liable to stumble, when their heads 
were free ; therefore, we abandoned the cruel practice ; 
and we hope that it will be totally abolished, and, with 
that absurd custom of using blind bridles, sink into obliv- 
ion, so that, in regard to these fashions, our grand- 
children may laugh at the folly of their forefathers. 
7* 



78 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



STABLES. 

Stables should be on an elevated, dry situation, so 
that a horse can go in and out, clean, in bad weather. 
He delights in cleanliness, and would snuff the pure 
breeze, and slake his thirst at the crystal fountain. Sta 
bles should be capacious, and well ventilated. These are 
important requisites to the health and comfort of the 
horse. All offensive matters should be removed from 
the stable, lest diseases be generated. After cleaning 
the stall, strew plaster on the floor, to' absorb the gas. 
This will pay all expense, in the improvement in the 
manure. 

Stables should be light, but a very strong, glaring light 
should be avoided. Dark stables are injurious to the eyes j 
so is the ammonial gas that arises from impure stables. 
Close, hot, foul stables, are very unwholesome. They not 
only cause disease, but they make the horse tender, and 
predispose him to other diseases than those generated in 
the stable. 

Over the horses, stables should be ceiled tight or plas- 
tered, to prevent the hay from being scented by the 
exhalations from the dung, urine, perspiration, and 
breath. 

The rack should be smooth, and the uprights about 
four or four and a half inches apart, so that the horse 
can conveniently draw out the fodder, and yet not draw 
it out so fast as to waste it. The part of the rack next 
the horse should be upright, that the chaff, dust, and 
seed, may not fall down into the horse's fa :e, eyes, ears, 
and mane. In some stables in England, there is no 
rack, all the fodder being cut, and fed into the manger. 
The halter should run through a ring, or hole in the 
manger, and be kept tight by a weight of about one 
pound ; then, when the halter is slack by the horse's 
advancing, it is drawn up out of the way, so that he 
cannot step over it. If the length of a halter is station- 
ary, it is too short to allow the hcrse to lie down : or so 
long that there is danger of his stepping over it, and 



HORSES. 79 

being cast. Many a fine horse has been ruined in this 
way. 

The stalls should be four and a half or five feet wide,, 
that the horse may lie down with ease. As a level posi- 
tion is most natural for the horse's feet, the floor of the 
staL should slope barely sufficient to drain off the urine. 

STABLE FLOORS. 

There is no doubt that a floor of plank, or other hard 
substance, is injurious, not only from its hard, unyield- 
ing nature, but from its keeping the fore feet dry. The 
horse, in his natural state, stands on a soft and yielding 
substance, and which is often moist. The hoofs of 
horses are a horny, porous, elastic substance, often 
receiving moisture, which is necessary to their well 
being. The constant dryness of their fore feet in stables, 
may account for their being more lame in these feet. 

Plank floors, as usually constructed, cause horses to 
stand uneasy, constantly straining some of the muscles 
of their legs, while sustaining themselves in an unnatu- 
ral position. 

To remedy these evils, on plank floors, make them 
almost entirely level, and allow horses bedding to stand 
on. to mollify the hardness ; and frequently wet the fore 
feet. Many prepare a floor of earth, and there is no 
doubt that it is better. Many farmers have a room 
for a horse, where he can stand on the manure all win- 
ter, having it levelled occasionally, especially where he 
stands to eat, that it may not accumulate too high under 
his hind feet. There is less waste of manure than when 
thrown out, and it will not ferment so early in spring. 

One of the best kind of stable floor, where the soil is 
dry, is made of lime, clay, and ashes, in equal parts. 
Mix into a mortar, and spread a foot deep. It will soon 
dry, and make a smooth, fine flooring, easy and agreea- 
ble for horses to stand on, and free from objections to 
stnne, bricks, and wood. When the corks on the shoes 
are long and sharp, have the litter deeper, to preserve 
the floor. 



80 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



DOCKING AND NICKING. 

Nicking is an innuman practice, that has gone almost 
entirely out of use. It not only inflicts severe punish- 
ment on the beast, during the tedious operation, but it 
weakens him forever afterwards j it is also liable to pro 
duce locked jaw. 

Of late years, there are many reflecting, intelligent 
persons, who think the horse's tail was made for some 
useful purpose, and that he should have it to defend him- 
self from myriads of flies and insects that swarm around 
him, in the warm season, to his great annoyance and 
vexation. Some think the horse will look better for 
being docked, and that this operation will cause his hind 
quarters to fill out fuller and stronger. Docking \z per 
formed by a single stroke of some sharp instrument. If 
it bleed too much, put the inner, soft part of sole leather 
on the wound, and tie the hair over it. The tail should 
be cut in a joint. This custom is declining. 

EXERCISE. 

Horses constantly stabled should be moderately exei- 
cised two hours a day, when the weather permits, in 
order to keep up their health and strength ; for a horse 
will soon lose his strength as well as health, without 
exercise, if confined. Much depends on age, as a young 
horse requires more exercise than an old one. For 
neither should it be violent ; and the horse should not 
be put up till he is cool ; nor should he be allowed to cool 
at rest ; but during very gentle exercise. Horses run- 
ning in the pasture are better for moderate exercise 
frequently. 

A horse's exercise should be in proportion to his 
strength, manner of feeding, labor required, &c. 

Horses should not be rode fast after having been 
newly fed and watered. A fat horse requires a long 
course of moderate exercise before he can be safely put 
to a violent trot. 

It should be a general rule to ride a horse moderately 



HORSES. 81 

at the beginning of a stage ; afterwards increase the 
pace, and slacken it again a mile or two before stop- 
ping, so as to bring him tolerably cool into tke stable 
[See remarks on Exercise, page 20.] 

REARING AND TRAINING COLTS. 

In his infancy, the colt will generally get along very 
well by his own exertions, with the affectionate care of 
his mother. But sometimes, colts, like calves and lambs, 
are weak or foolish, and need assistance ; and, again, 
the mother may be ignorant or unfeeling, and some 
attention may be necessary. 

The sooner the training commences, the better, after 
the colt is several weeks old, if it be done by a discreet 
person, so that he may receive the kindest treatment 
He may be fastened by a halter, where he cannot injure 
himself, or shut up in a safe room. The better way is 
to fasten him, generally ; then, after having tried in vain 
to break away, he will learn to stand hitched, and by 
leading him, and handling him when fastened, he will 
the sooner be tamed and rendered familiar. 

There are many disadvantages in colts following their 
dams, and they should frequently be left at home when 
their mothers are going far and will return the same 
day or evening, or are going a moderate distance and 
back quick, so that the exercise would be too much for 
the colt. If the mare travels far in hot weather, the colt 
will not only be injured by travelling, but he will be 
greatly injured by using heated milk. If he be left at 
home, the milk can be extracted on the way, to prevent 
injury to the mare ; and, on returning, it should be 
nearly all drawn out, to prevent injury to the colt ; then 
he will gradually fill his stomach, as the milk is secreted. 
This is by far the better way of the two ; but the best 
way of all is to use the mare but little. Some would 
object to the colt's going without milk all day. "What 
do they think of thousands of calves that do this, and 
grow and flourish well ? 

Sometimes colts will go off after another horse. Again, 
they will start to go abroad, and will not follow well j 



82 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

and they often busy themselves in eating harnesses. 
These are all vexations. 

Colts are weaned when four to seven months old. 
They should be put into a small enclosure, for conve- 
nience in seeing to them often, where there is pure 
water, a plenty of sweet herbage, and trees, or some- 
thing that will be 

"From storms a shelter, and from heat a shade." 

Give them a little salt. If weaned after the green herb- 
age is gone, feed on rowen, well saved, clover, and a 
few roots. A little meal and a few oats are good. 

Take colts to the barn in the fall, when cold nights 
come on ; and give them clover hay, roots, and some 
provender. They require special attention the first 
winter. A little exercise is of great advantage. Under 
a wise manager, they may be trained to a sleigh. When 
well disciplined, drive moderately ; walk up hill, and 
down hill, too, if quite steep. Consider that a colt is a 
" wee bit of a thing," compared with a horse, in strength ; 
and he should be put to no hardships. Gentle training 
will save breaking, and he will make a more intelligent 
and tractable horse. Put no weights on his back in his 
tender age. 

Colts are seldom or never vicious by nature. If well 
educated, by first learning them what they are required 
to perform, and then encouraged and directed, by gentle 
means and the kindest treatment, there would seldom be 
any trouble, or need of compulsion or severity. [See 
Training and Breaking, page 27, and the following 
article.] 

TAMING, TRAINING, AND BREAKING. 

We have given some general rules on this subject. 
We here give modes of taming wild and vicious horses, 
and training horses, generally, to specific purposes. 

TAMING VICIOUS HORSES. 

Mr. Denton Offutt, of Kentucky, distinguished him- 
self in taming horses, in all their varieties of vices and 
faults. He would make any horse follow him in the 



HORSES. 83 

street , in a few minutes. His mode was very gentle. 
He slowly approached a horse, rubbed him gently on the 
head in the direction of the hair, the faster the better ; 
then rubbed and patted him all over, going to his head 
whenever he seemed alarmed. He would put on the 
bridle and halter ; talk kindly to him, saying, " come 
along." Put on and took off the saddle, always calming 
his fears with kindness. In this way, he would tame 
and subdue by gentleness ; the horse would become 
familiar, pleased, and tractable. 

TAMING ANIMALS. 

Mr. Catlin, in his work on the North American Indians, 
gave the following account of their method of taming the 
wild buffalo calves, and wild horses : — 

" I have often, in concurrence with a well-known cus- 
tom of the country, held my hand over the eyes of the 
calf, and breathed a few strong breaths into his nostrils j 
after which, I have rode several miles into our encamp- 
ment, with the little prisoner busily following the heels 
of my horse, as close and affectionately as its instinct 
would attach it to the company of its dam. During the 
time that I resided at this point, in the spring of the 
year, on my way up the river, I assisted in bringing in, 
in the above manner, several of these little prisoners, 
which sometimes followed for five or six miles close to 
our horses' heels, and even into the fur company's fort, 
and into the stables where our horses are led. 

In the same way the wild horses are tamed. When 
the Indian has got him well secured with tht lasso, and 
a pair of hobbles on his feet, he gradually advances 
until he is able to place his hand on the animal's nose, 
over his eyes, and at length to breathe in its nostrils, when 
it soon becomes docile and conquered ; so that he has 
little more to do than to remove the nobbles froDi his 
feet, and ride him into the camp." 

The following is an account of an experiment by this 
mode. A horse-tamer saw a farmer and his tenants 
trying, ineffectually, to break a horse in the old way ; 
and he proposed to try the effect of his new mode. The 



84 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

filly was tied short up to a tree by the wall, and the 
tamer was warned to be cautious, as she would strike 
him with her fore feet. He approached cautiously over 
the wall, and by the tree. Immediately upon his touch 
mg the halter, the horse pranced about, and finally 
pulled away, with a dogged and stubborn expression, 
which seemed to bid defiance. . Taking advantage of 
this, he leaned over as far as he could, clinging all the 
time to the tree with his right hand, and succeeded in 
breathing in one nostril, without, however, being able 
to blind the eyes. From that moment, all became easy. 
He was very skilful in the management of a horse, 
coaxed it, and rubbed its face, and breathed from time 
to time into the nostrils, while the horse offered no resist- 
ance. In about ten minutes, he declared his conviction 
that the horse was subdued j and he then unfastened it, 
and, to the great and evident astonishment of all, led 
it quietly away with a loose halter. Stopping in the mid- 
dle of the field, with no one else near, he quietly walked 
up to the horse, placed his arm over one eye, and his 
hand over the other, and breathed in the nostrils. It 
was pleasing to observe how agreeable this operation 
appeared to the horse, who put up his nose to receive 
the puff. In this manner, he led the horse through all the 
fields to the stable yard, where he examined the fore feet 
of the horse, which offered no resistance, but while he 
was examining the hind feet, bent its neck round, and 
kept nosing his back. He next buckled on a surcingle, 
and then a saddle, and finally fitted the horse with a 
rope. During the whole of these operations, the horse 
did not offer the slightest resistance, nor did it flinch in 
the least degree. 

BREAKING AND TAMING WILD HORSES. 

The following mode was practised by Mr. Jonathan 
Smith, of Virginia. A vicious mare was given him to 
tame, which, it was said, he could not manage, unless he 
dealt with the devil, for she was a wild, skittish young 
thing, high-tempered, and disposed to kick and bite. 

He orcteicd her into a stable, and then entered and 
fastened the door. Before she had time to survey him, 



HORSES. 85 

be was giv mg her the lash smartly. Around she went, 
kicking and jumping. No rest was given ; the sweat 
flowed, and she slackened in her movements. When 
she approached him, he slacked his whip, held out his 
hand, and said, "Come along." Again she was off, and 
the lash applied. This was repeated several times before 
she would advance, and when she moved towards him 
he approached and patted her, and as he moved away, 
and said, "Come along," she followed. In a moment 
she darted off; he applied the lash smartly. She stopped, 
trembled, and approached him ; he patted her neck, and 
said, "Come along," and she followed him several times 
round the stable. When she lagged, he was away, and 
the whip applied. After that, she would not remain two 
feet from him. 

He ordered the door opened, and the mare followed 
close to him to the crowd and back to the stable. This 
shows the general course, but not all the acts, in the tragi- 
comedy. It required about half an hour; and he said 
that it would not need repeating j that it was humane, 
as it prevented further contention. 

TO TRAIN A SHY OR SKITTISH HORSE. 

Never strike him for swerving, as this will increase 
his fears ; but gently rub him in the face, and walk by 
the side of his head to the cause of alarm, and let him 
examine it ; then go back; and let him slowly approach 
the object again ; repeat, if necessary. We were once 
training a high-spirited and skittish colt, and he stopped 
with affright at a lock of hay in the road ; we gently 
led him to the frightful object, and allowed him to eat it, 
to show him his folly. 

Notwithstanding his spirit and shyness, we trained 
him to stop short or lie still at the word wha ! (long a, 
that he might distinguish from the word go /) on any 
emergency, even if lying uncomfortably in a snow-bank ; 
and we taught him to stop suddenly, whenever the har 
ness broke or halter fell, even when travelling rapidly on 
a dark night. [See Blind Bridles.] 

Lead a horse carefully over bridges, till his shyness 
abates ; but if he continues shy, always lead him" over 
8 



86 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

bridges that are not well railed, when you have any per- 
son in a carriage, as lives have been lost by horses 
springing suddenly from bridges, and plunging into the 
stream. 

TRAINING TO VARIOUS PURPOSES. 

To make a Horse follow you. You may make any 
horse follow you in ten minutes ; go to the horse, rub 
his face, jaw, and chin ; leading him about, saying to 
him, "come along;" a constant tone is necessary j by 
taking him away from persons and horses, repeat rub- 
bing, leading, and stopping. Sometimes turn him round 
all ways, and keep his attention by saying, " Come along." 
With some horses, it is important to whisper to them, as 
it hides the secret, and gentles the horse ; you may use 
any word you please, but be constant in your tone of 
voice. The same will cause all horses to follow. 

How to manage a Kicking Horse. First make a stall, 
or pen, for your horse, in which he cannot turn round, 
and with slats, through which you can put your hand to 
rub him in the face, and all over, two or three times, — 
raising his tail gently, three or four times ; then touch 
one of his fore legs, and say to him " foot," " foot," until 
he shows a willingness to raise his foot j raise his foot 
up, and put it down, some three or four times ; then go 
all round, until fear is removed. All you wish a horse 
to do ought to be done three or four times, repeated two 
or three days in succession. 

To train a Horse to the Saddle. You may begin 
by showing him the blanket, rubbing him with it, and 
throwing it on his back ; in a short time, you may lay 
the saddle on, and, after fondling him a few minutes, 
you may fasten it, and ride him with safety. It is better 
for one person to stand by his head at first, and keep 
him quiet ; and then to lead him along until all danger 
is over. If he is dangerous, you may exercise him for 
some time, by leading him, and leaving him, as he be- 
comes more and more gentle in working. You can then 
manage him with more safety. It is better to wcrka 
horse to make him very gentle. 

To train a Horse to the Harness, You must be 



HORSES. 87 

very gentle with him. You may commence by throw- 
ing a rope over the back, and letting it hang loose on 
both sides ; then lead him about, caressing him, until he 
becomes satisfied that it will not hurt him; then put 
on the harness, and pull gently on the traces — in a short 
time, by this kind treatment, he will be prepared for 
work. 

To make a Horse stand while you mount. Get on 
and dismount four or five times before you move him 
out of his tracks ; and, by repeating this, any horse will 
stand still. 

To cure a Biting Horse. Biting is a bad and dan- 
gerous habit. It is said that the bite of a horse that is 
not mad will sometimes produce madness. The follow- 
ing is regarded as an effectual, but barbarous remedy ; 
but it is to cure a savage habit. A horse would better 
burn himself than bite people repeatedly. Roast or bake 
a piece of meat, and present it hot as he attempts to bite. 
Be cautious lest he bite a piece of live flesh instead of hot 
meat. 

TO ACCUSTOM A HORSE TO THE USE OF A GUN, UMBRELLA, 

Ace . Commence by showing your friendship, by rubbing 
the horse's face with your hand ; then snap and explode 
percussion caps with a pistol ; let the horse frequently 
smell the powder and smoke ; then you will fire small 
reports, until fear is removed; then overhead, and be- 
hind the horse, until all is free. If you have a very wild 
horse, place him in a stall, so as to have him safe ; then 
fire a gun all around him, and go often up to him, speak 
to him, and rub him in the face, and then fire the gun 
again, until he is free from starting. To make a horse 
used to an umbrella, walk before him, raising it up and 
shutting it again ; let him smell it, and rub it over his 
head; then get on him, gently raise it, and ride him 
along, until the fear is over. 

To teach a Horse to lie down. First, with some soft 
handkerchief or cloth, tie up one fore leg ; then, with a 
stick, tap him on the other, and say " kneel ;" sometimes, 
ay rubbing him on the head, and patting him on the leg, 
you will induce him to lie down. It appears that all 
horses are inclined to obey, when you teach them that 
vou will not hurt them. 



bb DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

To PREVENT A HORSE BREAKING A HALTER OR BRIDLE. 

First, strong halter him with one that will not draw, as 
that often makes his jaw sore ; then fasten him to some- 
thing which he cannot pull loose, and let him pull j in- 
deed, make him pull until he is unwilling to pull any 
more. You then get on and ride him a mUe or two, and 
tie him so again, and let him stand quiet. To prevent a 
horse breaking a bridle, put a thin, soft pad under that 
part that passes over the top of his head, with little sharp 
nails, so arranged that they will run through the pad and 
prick him when he pulls. 

To prevent Stumbling. If a horse stumbles or trips, 
it is a common practice to strike him for it. This will 
not mend his habits, but will add to them, if he has spirit, 
that of springing forward with dangerous quickness 
whenever it occurs — as he will expect the lash to follow. 
The remedy is, to keep an eye upon the road, and where, 
from stones or unevenness, falling is apprehended, tighten 
the reins and enliven the horse, but never strike him after 
the accident. 

To MANAGE A CONTRARY RACE-HORSE. If he StOpS or 

sulks, go to him, and speak kindly to him ; rub him down 
the face, using the bridle no more than you can help ; 
turn him to the right or left, until he starts, as he will be 
most apt to start, at the second or third motion ; then 
continue rubbing him in the face, talking to him as in 
other cases, keeping him quiet by leading him about. 
Continue to rub him in the face, and use the same tone 
of voice. 

To manage a Sullen Horse. If a horse lies down, 
and will not get up, drive a stake in the ground and 
fasten him down for ten or twelve hours ; then loosen 
him, work him for about an hour, water and feed him, 
and he will "know better next time." Or apply your 
hands to the nostrils and stop his breath, and he will 
soon start. 

To stop a Headstrong Horse. Connected with the 
reins have a covering that, by a spring, may be suddenly 
thrown over his eyes, which will blind and stop him. 
Or have extra reins extending from the top of the head- 
stall through rings on the hames, near the top, or D's 



HORSES. 89 

in the saddle. Put a narrow or round strap under the 
throat, and fasten to these reins, on each side, bringing 
the reins down low. On drawing these reins, the strap 
will chokt and stop the horse. 

CARE OF A HEATED OR WET HORSE. 

Walking. When a horse comes to the stable sweat- 
ing copiously, he must not stand still, especially in cool 
weather, as he will be likely to take cold, inflamed lungs, 
or founder. But, by gentle motion, he will gradually 
cool, and these evils will be avoided. 

If a horse be wet, he should be walked until dry ; for, 
in this process, the evaporation carries off a great deal 
of heat from the body, and produces chill, colds, and 
diseases. But by moderate exercise, the heat is kept up 
till the drying is completed. 

Wisping. If a horse be wet from water, or perspira- 
tion, and cannot be dried by moderate exercise, the 
water should first be scraped out of his coat, and the 
drying completed by wisping; and it should be done 
immediately, attending first to the belly and legs. To 
do this well, requires skill and a strong arm. 

Clothing. If several horses need drying at the same 
time, and there is not sufficient help, put warm clothing 
on them ; but if possible, scrape them first. 

DRESSING VICIOUS HORSES. 

Some horses seem naturally averse to the operations 
of the groom. But many are rendered vicious by the 
harshness, timidity, or folly of the keeper. 

Biting may be prevented by tying the head to the 
rack, or ring outside the stall, or by putting on a muz- 
zle. Some horses are so prone to biting, that it is dan- 
gerous to pass near their heads. Some biters are safe 
with the bridle on, and the bits in the mouth. Others 
behave very well when blindfolded. But some are so 
vicious that if prevented from biting by restraining the 
head, they will beat down their keepers with their fore 
feet. 

8* 



90 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

Kicking is a worse habit. A groom of courage and 
authority, sometimes threatening, and now and then 
striking with a switch, will generally keep a kicking 
horse in subjection. The strap is a good remedy 
Take up a fore leg, and bend the knee till the foot 
almost touches the elbow ; then apply a strap over the 
fore arm and pastern ; then he cannot kick j or the 
exceptions are few. Change the legs each time. They 
should be held up at first. Keep out of the reach of a 
kicking horse, or so near him that an attempt to kick 
will be only a push. 

UTILITY OF DRESSING AND FRICTION 

It improves the appearance, and renders the hair 
glossy and smooth. When the coat of a horse is in 
good condition, it is a little oily, which causes it to shed 
the water. The anointing matter is secreted by the 
skin, and this secretion is much influenced by the 
grooming. A want, or redundancy, of perspiration 
injures the coat. Hence a horse that is often and 
severely heated, needs much dressing to keep him in 
tolerable plight. 

Grooming has an important effect on health, as well 
as in the appearance. A healthy state of the skin is 
very conducive to a healthy condition of the bowels and 
lungs, as there is an intimate connection between them. 
If, from a sudden cold, the pores of the skin become 
closed, insensible perspiration is impeded in its usual 
course, and the system becomes diseased. Hence the 
importance of washing, bathing, and rubbing the body 
of the human subject, and of currying, brushing, rub- 
bing, and occasionally washing animals j not on*y 
horses, but all others. 

SHOEING. 

A smith who shod for the hunt, and who said that he 
should have to shut up shop if a shoe was lost, as it 
might cause the loss of a horse worth a thousand pounds, 
fastened the shoe as follows : — As he drove the nails, he 



HORSES. 



91 



merely bent the points down to the hoof, without twist- 
ing them off", as the usual practice is. He then drove 
the nails home, and clenched them. He then twisted 
off the nails, and filed them lightly, to smooth them: 
thus having, as he remarked, a clench and rivet to hold 
the nail. [See Diseases of the Feet.] 

TO SAVE HORSES FROM FIRE. 

Horses are frequently burnt to death, when barns or 
stables are on fire, owing to the impossibility of leading 
or driving them out of the building, while their eyes are 
dazzled by the light. But we are assured that by sim- 
ply covenng their eyes with a bag, blanket, coat, or 
pocket handkerchief, they may be led out of danger 
without trouble or difficulty. It is said that by throwing 
a saddle, or anything else, on the back of a horse, in such 
cases, he may be led out. 

FOOD, AND ITS PREPARATION. 

GREEN HERBAGE. 

Green herbage, in great variety, is the natural food 
of the horse. This is the most wholesome : for on this he 
is less liable to disease than when under an artificial 
course of feeding. This food is rather laxative, so that 
it keeps the bowels in good condition ; it contains suffi- 
cient nutriment, and is not liable to produce plethora 
nor does it have the heating and constipating effects of 
grain and other concentrated food. 

Grasses are the principal food of horses ; yet they eat 
of almost every kind if herbage. In this way, they are 
supplied with a great variety of food, affording all the 
necessary elements of nutrition. The principal grasses 
cultivated in this country, are herds-grass, red-top, and 
red and white clover : all of which are excellent. There 
are other grasses cultivated to less extent, and many 
kinds grow spontaneously. A few grasses salivate the 
horse. [See Salivation.] 

Indian Corn. Green cornstalks are a good food for 



92 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

horses and other stock. Some have worked on it for 
months, without grain. In such cases, it is the better 
for having age and substance. [See Food for Cattle.] 

Small Grains and other Plants. The small grains, 
while the straw is green, or while they are growing, and 
fed off* like grass, are excellent food for horses. Millet, in 
the green state, is good horse feed. Besides the things 
we have named, there are hundreds of plants, far too 
numerous to mention, indigenous and exotic, cultivated 
and spontaneous, that are nutritious and palatable food 
for horses, cattle and sheep. 

DRY HERBAGE. 

Hay is the principal dry fodder used in this country 
for horses and other stock ; and although a few varieties, 
such as herds-grass, red-top and clover, are the principal 
kinds used, yet owing to soil, their growth, the time of 
cutting, the weather for saving, the manner of curing, 
and the condition in which they are saved, there is a vast 
difference in the quality of hay. While some kinds are 
worth $20 per ton, others are not worth $5, and some lots 
are fit only for manure. 

Herds-grass, (Timothy,) with a little red-top and clo- 
ver, makes a very substantial fodder for animals that are 
at hard labor ; but for milch, growing, or idle animals, 
clover, well cured, is a superior article. To make it 
without wasting the leaves, put it into tumbles when 
partially dry. This will cause the moisture to spread 
from the stalk to the dry portions ; then open and dry 
again. If not well made when got in, put it with straw, 
old hay, or coarse vines or herbage, in alternate layers. 
These will save it, and become sweet by contact. 

Quality of Hay. Hay is of various qualities, as we 
have named. Some is cut too early, and is flashy and 
too physical for laboring animals. Some stands too long 
in the field, and becomes lifeless. It sometimes lodges, 
and is poor when cut. In bad weather, or by neglect, it 
is exposed to rains or dews, and much injured. The hot 
sun, after it is pretty well made, destroys its sweetness 
and fine fragrance. Hay is often put into the barn in 
too green or damp state, and mow-burns, and becomes 



HORSES. 93 

musty and poor. Some save hay by much salt ; but if 
more salt is put on than animals would eat while con- 
suming the hay, which is about four or five quarts to the 
ton, it will be injurious. This would give a horse that 
eats four tons a year, about forty or fifty pounds of salt, 
which is much more than, the usual allowance of an 
ounce a day, or eight ounces a week. Avoid all kinds 
of bad hay, if you would keep your animals in good con- 
dition. 

Straw, of various kinds, is used as food for stock. It 
contains some nutriment, and when animals are fed 
highly on grain, straw is better than hay, as it gives 
bulk to fill the stomach, with less nutriment. The value 
of straw depends much on the time it is harvested, and 
the manner of saving It is much better for being cut 
in a machine. 

Corn fodder is valuaine, being very nutritious and 
palatable, when cut in season and well cured. A good 
crop will afford six tons of dry fodder to the acre. 

Other Plants. As we have said of green herbage, 
there are hundreds of plants that afford good dry fodder, 
when cut in their tender state and well saved. Some, 
that animals will not eat in their green state, are quickly 
devoured when dry. Horses and other animals will eat 
poisonous plants, and lobelia, in a dry state, which they 
avoid w r hen green. [See Poisons.] 



Oats are used more extensively for horses than any 
grain. They are an excellent food, giving strength and 
spirit ; and, owing to the hull, they afford the stimulus 
of distention, as well as nutriment. They are less liable 
to injure horses than corn, wheat or rye, which are more 
solid, or concentrated food. There is a vast difference 
in the value of oats, — some having full meat, others 
being mostly hulls. Some weigh twice as much as 
others, and this should be considered in purchasing and 
feeding. 

Bad oats are often given to horses, which have an un- 
favorable effect, producing the diabetes and other dis- 
eases. Sometimes oats are injured by storms, or in 



94 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

suring. New oats, not well saved, are hard to digest, 
and rather purgative. If too old, they become musty, 
and full of insects. Some contain dirt, dust, earth, &c. 

Preparation and Feeding. Horses prefer oats whole 
and raw. Grinding is not generally considered profita- 
ole. Bruising is good, but it is much labor. Soaking 
is good; even wetting is beneficial in hot weather. 
When horses are travelling, they waste oats from a 
trough, and they lose many from provender baskets by 
tossing up the head. Nose- bags are best, with a good 
fit, to prevent waste, yet allowing room for the jaws to 
operate. 

Indian Corn is used to a great extent in this country 
for horses ; it being the cheapest grain raised, consid- 
ering the nutriment it contains. But, owing to its heat- 
ing properties, and the large amount of nutriment in a 
small space, it should not be given alone, excepting in 
moderate quantities. Hence the advantage of grinding 
the cob with the corn, to add to the bulk. The cob con- 
tains some nutriment, also. Meal, or cracked corn, is 
better than whole corn. If a horse be fed on whole corn, 
fowls will live well on the manure, or particles of undi- 
gested grain that are voided. Some soak corn a day or 
two before feeding, which is doubtless an advantage. 

Barley. Some regard barley as valuable as oats, 
pound for pound. Others say it is heating and laxative. 
Its laxative effects soon cease. It is better for boiling or 
soaking ; or grind and scatter it on cut, moistened fodder. 
Feed lightly at first. 

Wheat is hard to masticate and digest j therefore it is 
not good food without preparation. Horses are very fond 
of it, and will eat it to excess. It is said to be poisonous 
in large quantities. It has proved fatal in several cases. 
Wheat bran, pollard, and shorts, are valuable for mashes. 

Buckwheat is but little used for horse feed. In some 
parts of Europe it is used, being first made into bread. 
Some say this grain is too laxative ; others, that it has 
stupefying effects. 

Rye is but little used as food for stock. We have 
observed that it is laxative ; and this might be inferred 
from its peculiar qualities. A good preparation would 
be to grind it and strew the meal on fodder 



HORSES. 95 



Potatoes, both raw and cooked, are a gooc food for 
horses. They are rather laxative, especially raw. In 
large quantities, raw, they are apt to produce colic in 
horses not accustomed to them. They are in some 
measure a substitute for grain, in horses accustomed to 
slow work, and they are better than grain to keep idle 
horses in an healthy state ; but for horses accustomed to 
speed and violent exertion, this food is not sufficiently 
solid. A very few may be given at night, or a moderate 
mess on Saturday night, when the horse is allowed to 
rest on Sunday. They prevent costiveness. 

Turnips are much used in England as food of farm 
and cart-horses. Ruta-bagas are best. The white are 
poor. For slow workers, turnips, to a moderate extent, 
supersede grain ; but for fast workers, they are a substi- 
tute for hay. They are better cooked. Turnips produce 
a good skin, and a smooth, shining coat. It is best to 
give them at night. 

Carrots are probably the best roots for horses. When 
first given they are slightly laxative and diuretic, but in a 
short time these effects abate. They improve the condi- 
tion of the skin. They are a good alterative for horses 
out of condition. To sick and idle horses they render 
grain unnecessary. They are good in diseases of the 
skin ; and they are very useful in chronic cough and bro- 
ken wind. They are excellent in restoring a worn-down 
horse. Carrots are fed raw. They should be washed 
and sliced. For slow working horses they answer in- 
stead of grain. One bushel of oats and one of carrots 
are considered equal to two bushels of oats. Horses 
like carrot-tops, and they are considered wholesome. 

Parsnips are much used in France as horse feed. In 
some places they are used for fattening all kinds of 
stock. It is said that they injure the eyes of horses, but 
this is not well established, as in some parts they are 
used extensively, without this effect. Parsnips are used 
raw and boiled. Their leaves, in good condition, are 
eaten as readily as clover. 

Beets, Artichokes, Vegetable Oysters, and other 
roots, have been but little used for horses. 



96 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

Washing Roots. A little dirt may do no injury, 
especially in winter. Some think it is beneficial. Sheep 
are doubtless benefited by a little. The dirt has a laxa- 
tive effect j and the roots, and salt used on them, have 
the same effect. This may be sufficient without dirt. 
The dirt may wear the teeth too fast, and sometimes 
horses loathe it. It is but a little trouble to wash them 
in a machine, or by putting them into a basket, and 
shaking them in a tub of water. 

VARIOUS OTHER FOOD. 

Beans are seldom used in this country. In England, 
they are much used. Old beans are preferred, as new 
are more flatulent and harder to digest, producing colic 
and founder. Sometimes they are mouldy, and insects 
may eat out the flour and vital part. Beans are very 
nutritious, heating and constipating. Therefore, use 
them sparingly. Grind them, and strew the meal on 
fodder. The meal is good for diabetes. 

Peas are much the same as beans, only rather harder 
to digest. The meal is still better for diabetes. 

Flax-seed, in small quantities, either whole or ground, 
raw or boiled, is sometimes given to sick horses. It is 
too nutritious for a fever, or any condition that requires 
light food. But it is excellent for a cough; it makes 
the skin loose, and the coat smooth and shining. Half 
a pint may be mixed with the food every night. For a 
cough, it should be boiled, and given in a bran mash, 
and the compound will be improved in its medical qual- 
ities by adding a little coarse sugar, honey, or molasses. 

Oil Cake, ground, which is called oil meal, is very 
good in boiled food, which is not very rich ; or it may 
be prepared by turning on water, and let it stand awhile. 
In this state, it may be sprinkled on to cut feed, or any 
fodder. Two pounds a day is the usual allowance ; it 
makes the hair glossy, and the skin soft and pliant. 

Hemp-seed is supposed to be invigorating and good for 
the wind. It is given to stallions in the travelling sea- 
son The allowance is four or five ounces every night. 

Eggs and New Milk are given to stallions in the sea« 
Ron they are much used, but the former is a very expen* 



HORSES. 97 

S've food. In Arabia these articles are considerably 
used for horses. Milk is the natural food of the colt, for 
the first four or six months. 

Bread is considerably used on the continent of Eu 
rope, as horse feed. It is made from various kinds of 
grain, and fermented. It is nutritious and wholesome, 
and, in some sections, economical. 

Fruits, of various kinds, are used, such as apples, 
pumpkins, sweet potatoes, chestnuts, dates, &c. Some 
think pumpkin-seeds should be removed ; lest, from their 
diuretic quality, they produce diabetes. 

Flesh and Fish are fed to horses in Iceland, and some 
parts of Norway. 

PREPARATION OF FOOD. 

Something has already been said on this subject, in 
regard to several kinds of food which we have named 
[See, also, page 31.] 

Cutting Fodder. There are several advantages in 
cutting fodder. Different kinds may be mixed together, 
and all consumed without waste, the unpalatable with 
the good. When a horse is heated, hungry, and thirsty, 
he may eat moistened food, and thus quench his thirst, 
satisfy his hunger, and cool gradually ; when, without 
this preparation of food, he would be too hot to drink, 
and too thirsty to eat dry fodder. 

By this preparation, a horse has time to eat his food, 
and lie down, and rest, instead of standing all night, and 
chewing hard, long, dry fodder. This is important, 
when a horse has been on his legs all day. 

Cut and moistened fodder prevents the heaves, and it 
cures this disorder, or so far relieves it, that animals 
which have been thus affected, are enabled to do good 
service, and appear to be cured. The superintendent of 
a stable of forty horses, informed us, that during many 
years' experience, and his horses in very hard service, he 
never had one affected with the heaves ; and several that 
he procured, when they had this disorder, in some cases 
severely, were cured in the course of a few months, and 
not troubled in this way again while under his care. 
He attributed these favorable results to the constant use 
9 



98 DISK SES OF ANIMALS. 

i 

of moist food. Fodder should not be cut very short, as 
some animals swallow it without chewing it well. In 
such cases, the sharp ends of fodder have cut the intes- 
tines so as to produce blood in the dung. From one and 
a half to two and a half inches is short enough. Some 
cut it two or three inches long. 

Soaking- Fodder. Some soak fodder from morning 
till night, and the reverse, and prefer this to cutting. 
It greatly promotes mastication and digestion. In this 
case, it would be well to have stock in a cellar during 
winter. 

GENERAL REMARKS ON FOOD AND FEEDING. 

When great labor is required, feed a horse on dr}' fod- 
der, cut and moistened, and grain ground or cracked. 
This is the best practice in this country and Europe. 
When horses are heated, and pressed hard, without time 
to rest, give them meal in soft, but not cold water. If the 
horse has time to eat, give him moistened fodder. Grain 
gives the horse strength, affording much nutriment to 
support the wear of muscle under great exertion. But 
for his health, he should occasionally have roots ; or 
feed these in very small quantities, if violent exertion is 
required; and to slow working and idle horses, feed 
them constantly. They keep the animal in better health 
than grain ; they open the bowels, cool the blood, deter- 
mine the secretions to the surface, render the skin loose, 
and the hair smooth and glossy ; and besides the advan- 
tage of keeping the horse in good condition, roots are a 
cheaper food than grain. 

The food of a horse has great effect on diseases. 
Wounds heal more kindly ; inflammatory diseases are 
not so fatal, or are more easily cured ; and chronic dis- 
orders frequently abate, or entirely disappear, under the 
use of grass or other green herbage. But on such food, 
his flesh is soft, he sweats more, and is sooner exhausted. 
Such food is not suitable for horses at hard labor ; but it 
will answer for slow, moderate work. 

When horses are first taken from grass, they shou.d 
be gradually accustomed to a dry diet, by giving them 
laxative food, such as roots, mashes, clover hay, &c, 
with their other fodder, which should be gradually 



HORSES. 99 

increased, and oats or other grain should be fed lightly, 
at first. They should be put into a cool stable, and have 
a plenty of walking exercise, or light labor. These pre- 
cautions will save medicine and horses. 

As horses for labor are to be kept only in condition, 
not fattened for slaughter, they should always have 
moderate exercise, and food should not be kept con- 
stantly before them ; but there should be intervals 
of three or four hours between each meal, that they may 
rest, and regain their appetites 5 and that one meal may 
be well digested, before another is taken into the stom- 
ach, to over-tax the digestive organs with a double task 
at once. Some animals have no discretion, and some 
keepers of stock exercise no more judgment, but keep 
horses always eating, causing a burthen of fat and 
disease, in horses not exercised. 

WATER. 

Pond, river, or brook water, if it be pure and sweet, 
agrees well with horses. Hard water is said to be im- 
proved by throwing in chalk or clay, and exposing it in 
cisterns to the open air. Sometimes hard water at first 
relaxes the bowels, and affects the skin, causing the coat 
to staer. When water is taken from cold fountains, in 
hot weather, it should stand an hour or two before used j 
or add warm water or meal. Cold water is refreshing 
to a thirsty, heated horse ; and, if allowed, he would 
drink to his own destruction. After he has stopped two 
or three minutes, to recover his wind, he may drink a 
little cold water, and travel on immediately, to keep 
up the temperature of the system. In winter, guard 
against extremely cold water, by ice or snow in it, or by 
exposure to the freezing atmosphere. 

CARE OF HORSES IN TRAVELLING. 

Take particular care of your horse at every stopring- 
place, and see yourself that he is properly treated. 
Sometimes the hay at taverns is poor ; in that case, 
your horse must have more grain. If you feed freely 



100 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

on grain, lie should be accustomed to it, else the sadden 
change may prove injurious. Oats are not sp solid food 
as Indian corn, of course less liable to injure the horse. 

If grain be given mostly at night, it will become well 
digested, and nourish and strengthen the horse ; but if 
fed freely just before starting, the horse will travel with 
difficulty ; the digestion will not be complete, and the 
food will pass off without affording proper nourishment. 
Hard driving after eating is more injurious than eat- 
ing after hard driving. 

Many persons, on starting from home, or on the road, 
will stuff their horses with fodder, and then with grain, 
which they will eat, though full enough before ; like the 
thoughtless child, who will eat a piece of pie, though 
already pretty full. Hard driving, under such circum- 
stances, is ruinous j the horse should go moderately till 
the contents of the stomach are reduced. 

When travelling, allow the horse to drink often, and 
but little at a time, especially if he be heated, and the 
water cold ; then he will not wish to drink to excess ; 
and when he stops, let him cool before drinking. Mean- 
while, he may eat moist food. If a horse grows costive, 
give him some mashes of scalded bran, or a mess of 
potatoes or carrots, at night. 

After travelling, a horse's feet should be picked, and 
all dirt and gravel washed out. In hot weather, wash- 
ing his legs is proper, but they should always be well 
rubbed and dried, afterwards. In cold weather, cold 
water is injurious to the heels, and apt to bring on swell- 
ing, and the grease. Washing a horse's legs and feet 
in brine prevents stiffness in the joints, and it makes 
the hoofs tough. [For further directions on this subject, 
see Food, Water, Feeding on the Road, General Man- 
agement, &c] 

FEEDING ON THE ROAD. 

Many persons, in travelling, feed their horses too 
much and too often — continually stuffing them, not 
allowing them time to rest and digest their food ; of 
course they suffer from over-fulness, and carrying 






HORSES. 101 

unnecessary weight. Some make it a rule to bait every 
ten miles, which is very inconsistent, as in some cases, 
with a fleet animal, good road, favorable weather and 
load, this distance may be travelled in one third the 
time that it can under unfavorable circumstances as to 
speed. It would be better to regulate the feeding by 
time rather than distance. 

Mr SB. Buckley, who made a botanical tour among 
the Cumberland Mountains, says, in the Albany Culti- 
vator, " Four young men came in, travellers on horse- 
back, who. according to the southern custom, ride ali 
day, without stopping to dine or feed their horses. 
Horses will do well and keep in good condition under 
such treatment, as I can testify from experience." 

Horses should be well fed in the evening, and not 
stuffed too full in the morning, and the travelling should 
be moderate on starting, with a horse having a full 
stomach. If a horse starts in good condition, and trav- 
els rather quick, he can go twenty or twenty-five miles 
without baiting : this is evident, when we consider the 
time necessary to accomplish this space with tolerable 
speed : as it will require only three or four hours. On 
the contrary, with a heavy load and bad road, a horse 
would only go eight or ten miles in that time. Why 
cannot horses travel half a day, or four hours, without 
eating, as well as to work that time on a farm ? If there 
be more exertion on the road, it is a reason against fre- 
quent feeding at that time. 

GENERAL MANAGEMENT. 

We make a few remarks on subjects not considered 
elsewhere. The whip or spur should never be used, for 
any fault but dulness and obstinacy : and the latter can 
be cured better by gentleness. With kind treatment, 
the hoi^e is generally gentle and tractable. 

Washing horses, or allowing them to swim immedi- 
ately after hard work, or when heated, produces colds, 
fevers, colics, and fatal chronic complaints. Even the 
partial application of cold water to the legs, head, or 
back, when the horse is heated, should be avoided. 
9* 



102 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

When horses are at hard service, in hot weather, before 
feeding, cleanse their nostrils, inside and out, with a 
sponge or rag, wet in water and vinegar, or water alone, 
if vinegar be not at hand. 

Sometimes a horse will not lie down, when tied up in 
a stable, and he may suffer in his feet, joints, and in his 
whole system, by standing constantly. As a remedy, 
put him untied into a stall or pen, with a good bed to 
tempt him to rest his weary limbs. 

If you would improve the condition of a horse, and 
prepare him for hard service, you must work the flesh 
on to him, as the saying is ; that is, give him moderate 
exercise or labor, while he is gaining flesh; this will 
prevent the accumulation of fat, and increase the mus- 
cular part of the system ; it will give good health, and 
solidity and firmness to the flesh, and greatly increase 
his strength and power of endurance. 

In different stables, the quantity of salt varies from 
one to two ounces daily, for each horse. In others, none 
is given excepting on Saturday night, when eight ounces 
are given to each. This prevents any evil from liberal 
feeding while at rest on Sunday. Better give a small 
portion in food, and allow the horse to help himself to 
more when he pleases. 

For loss of appetite, give mashes, a few roots, and 
once or twice a week, three or four drachms of saltpetre, 
and give gentle exercise. A little Cayenne pepper, or 
hot drops may be good. [See page 49.] We have revived 
a horse's appetite by feeding on sheep's orts. 

Sometimes a cold bit freezes to the tongue, and takes 
the skin off. For ulcers in the mouth, apply a tincture 
of myrrh, or a solution of alum. For bridle-sores at the 
corners of the mouth, touch them daily with salt water ; 
and cover the bit in soft leather, unless the horse is at 
rest. 

STOMACH AND INTESTINES. 

Stomach. There is a strange difference between the 
four stomachs of the ox, and one of them so large, and 
the one small stomach of the horse — very small in pro- 



HORSES. 103 

portion to his size. He seems admirably calculated for 
exertion, speed, and strength, on every emergency, full 
or fasting ; yet by hard driving, after over-fulness, he 
is very liable to injury. If the horse had a large stom- 
ach, it would render him clumsy and heavy, when full, 
and it would press heavily on the lungs, and impede 
inspiration. A part of the horse's stomach, like the 
paunch of cattle, is insensible, and serves as a reservoir 
for food, which he is often compelled to eat fast, and 
without sufficient chewing, where it is macerated and 
prepared for digestion, which process is partially per- 
formed in the other parts, and then the food passes on 
to the 

Intestines, in the first portion of which digestion is 
continued, as it is larger than in other animals, and is 
well avlapted to digestion, by a thick, villous coat, with 
numerous folds, like a second stomach. This process is 
continued in the small intestines, and is not perfected 
until the food has passed the larger intestines ; the first 
of which, the colon, is very large in horses, compared with 
that in cattle ; here the food is retained awhile among 
the deep cells, and further digested. It then enters the 
cacum. which is large, and adapted to digestion by its 
complicated cells. After its retention, and further diges- 
tion here, it passes into the rectum, or last intestine, and is 
discharged, a part still remaining undigested after pass- 
ing through this long and complicated apparatus. 

PHYSIC. 

Sometimes it is necessary to physic horses, under 
treatment for diseases, and in cases of a iiange of food 
to that which is more astringent. When a horse comes, 
from grass to hard food, or from the coo>, open air to a 
heated stable, a dose or two of physic m*y be necessary 
to prevent the tendency to inflammation con? * ment on 
sudden changes. A dose of physic is or en u/cful to a 
horse that is becoming too fat, or has >urf» ir ; grease, 
mange, old cough, worms, or that is f t of condition 
from inactivity of the digestive organs. But the peri- 
odical physicking of horses, in the spri s; and fall, as 



104 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

practised by some to an injurious extent, should be 
avoided. 

It is best to prepare a horse for physic by giving bran 
mashes, until the dung becomes softened; then a less 
quantity of physic will suffice, and it will more readily 
pass through the intestines, and be more equally diffused 
over them. Five drachms of aloes will generally be suf- 
ficient when a horse has been prepared for the physic • 
it is equal to seven drachms when the intestines are 
obstructed by hardened feces. 

On the day of giving the physic, the horse should have 
walking exercise, or may be trotted gently for a quarter 
of an hour, twice in the day 5 but after the physic begins 
to work, he should not be moved from his stall. Exer- 
cise then would produce gripes, irritation, and possibly 
dangerous inflammation. It is an absurd and too com- 
mon a practice, to give the horse the most exercise after 
the physic has begun to operate. As much mash may be 
given as the horse will eat, and as much water, with the 
coldness taken off, as he will drink. If he refuses warm 
water, it is better for him to take cold water than to con- 
tinue without taking any fluid ; but he should take not 
more than a quart at a time, with intervals of an hour. 

"When the purging has ceased, a mash should be given 
once or twice a day, if another dose is to be given, which 
should be a week from the first. It is best to give mod- 
erate doses, as in some cases a less dose is required than 
in others, and then repeat in half or partial doses, at 
intervals of three, four, six or eight hours, according to 
circumstances. Be cautious and not carry this too far, 
nor give too large doses, lest the horse become swelled 
up and distressed more by the medicine than by the 
disease. 

Very powerful doses of physic cause lowness and 
weakness to hang about a horse for many days, or some 
weeks ; and inflammation will often ensue from over- 
irritation of the intestinal canal. Aloes is a very sure 
and safe purgative for a horse, and is used more exten- 
sively than any other physic, and in preference to any 
other. The Barbadoes should be preferred. The dose 
for a horse is from five to seven drachms. It is custom- 



HORSES. 106 

ary to give it in the form of a ball ; but a solution of aloes 
acts more speedily, safely, and effectually. 

Linseed oil is a safe but uncertain purgative ; doses 
from a pound to a pound and a half. Olive-oil is more 
uncertain, but safe. Castor-oil, a mild aperient in the 
human being, is both uncertain and unsafe. Epsom 
salts are not efficacious, excepting in large doses of a 
pound and a half, and then not always safe. Rhubarb 
and jalap have no effect as a purgative on the horse. A 
strong decoction of thoroughwort is an excellent cathartic 
for a horse. He may take it in Indian meal, or pour it 
down his throat. [See Physic, page 33.] 

DIURETICS. 

The principal diuretics for the horse are, rosin, salt 
petre, turpentine, and potash ; the milder ones are, digi- 
talis, squills, tobacco, cream of tartar, juniper, &c. 
Digitalis is peculiarly adapted to high inflammatory af- 
fections, to be used either with or without saltpetre. 

Rosin is the most active of any in use, and, m a dose 
of three to six or eight drachms, is very sure in its oper- 
ation. Saltpetre, in like doses, is sure, but not quite so 
active ; it is much preferred in inflammatory diseases 
in urinary obstructions from the gravel. Turpentine or 
potash is certain ; give of either from half an ounce to 
an ounce, in two or three quarts of water, fasting. A 
dose of cream of tartar is four to six ounces. 

In giving diuretics, observe the same precautions as 
with purgatives. Keep warm, but not hot : avoid over- 
exertion ; but, above all, allow a large quantity of tepid 
water, which increases the effect, and renders the action 
less hurtful. [See this subject, page 34.] 

BLEEDING. 

The best vein for bleeding horses is that in the neck, 
particularly in all affections of the head, and in fever. 
Tie the horse's head up for several hours after. In af 
fections of the shoulder, or of the fore leg or foot, bleed 
rom the plate vein, which comes from the inside of the 



106 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

arm. In affections of the foot, it may be taken from the 
coronet, or more safely from the toe, by cutting down 
with a fine drawing-knife, between the crust and the 
sole, at the very toe, till the blood flows, and making it 
bleed more by dipping the foot into warm water. The 
bleeding may be stopped with the greatest ease, by 
placing a bit of tow in the little groove that has been cut, 
and tacking the shoe over it. [See page 37.] 

FEVER. 

To judge of the state of the fever, you may examine 
the pulse, which you will find by pressing the fingers 
gently on the temporal artery, about an inch and a quar- 
ter back from the upper corner of the eye; or at the 
lower jaw, by pressing the artery against the bone ; or 
on the inside of the fore leg, just above the knee. In 
health, the pulsations are from thirty-six to forty a min- 
ute. When they reach fifty or sixty, fever is indicated ; 
seventy, seventy-five, or eighty, indicates a high fever. 
They are sometimes one hundred. Or put your hands 
to the nostrils and judge by the heat of the breath. 

Avoid all stimulating food or medicine. Bleeding may 
be necessary in the beginning of the fever, to reduce the 
force of circulation, and gentle purging to remove irritat- 
ing substances from the bowels. In an advanced state 
of the disease, when the heat is great, and the dung hard, 
clysters may be necessary. Feed sparingly, and with 
light, moist and easily digested food, that the digestion 
may not be oppressed ; and give cool drinks, to allay 
thirst, such as clover tea, lukewarm, with a quarter of 
an ounce of saltpetre in it, morning and evening, till the 
fever abates. Allow him rest ana quiet, and prevent all 
undue excitement. For a while, sprinkle warm water 
on his fodder. 

Those who are opposed to bleeding, (and gentle means 
are preferable,) may reduce the system by gentle physic, 
light and spare diet ; and diuretics will be an auxiliary, 
and often serve as a substitute for bleeding ; but, like 
physic and other unusual operations, they should be used 
very sparingly. The saltpetre recommended is sufficient. 



HORSES. 107 

Bleeding is not necessary, us there is no increase of 
blood iu a fever. By mild means the animal may be soon 
restored to health and strength, but if bled, he recovers 
slowly At first, equalize the circulation, by rubbing the 
extremities, giving light, laxative food, as bran mashes, 
etc., and soothing teas, such as raspberry, clover, sage, 
mint etc. In severe cases, in addition, throw warm rugs 
over the animal, hanging down to the floor, and place 
undei his body and head vessels of hot water, which renew, 
or put in hot stones, and sweat him. Apply cloths from 
hot water, and friction, to the legs, ears, etc. This will 
relax the rigid veins, and promote a general circulation 
and equilibrium of the blood. 

SCOURS. 

Causes are various. Sometimes it is an effort of 
nature to throw off morbid matter, preventing disease; 
therefore do not check it suddenly, but give dry food and 
it may abate. 

Remedy. If violent, give raspberry, camomile, clover, 
sage, or other soothing teas, and if these do not begin to 
check it, in one day, give light doses of lime water, or 
baberry tea, or other astringent. Scald the meal given as 
food, and give clover tea for drink. Light doses of hot 
drops, or Cayenne pepper, or composition are good to re- 
lieve pain, and give a healthy tone to the stomach. The 
teas are good to check inflammation of the bowels. Strong 
coffee, with a little flour and some eggs beaten up in it is a 
good remedy. If the disease continues, or is becoming 
chronic dysentery, give once in a day or two, to a large 
animal, three or four lare spoonfuls of finely pulverized 
charcoal. 

HOVE. 

Not common in the horse, give a pint of strong saltwater, 
or quarter of an ounce of chloride of lime in a quart 
of water, or a pint of gin or other spirits. 



108 



DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



DISTINCTION BETWEEN COLIC AND INFLAM- 
MATION. 

The following table will enable one to distinguish 
between colic or gripes, and inflammation of the bowels : — 



Spasmodic, or Wind Colic. 

1. Pulse natural, though 
sometimes a little lower. 
In health, the pulsations are 
thirty-six to forty per min- 
ute ; being rather slower in 
large, heavy, and in old 
horses, than in young ones. 
Exercise, animation, or 
fright, increases the pulse. 

2. The horse lies down, 
and rolls upon his back. 

3. The legs and ears 
generally warm. 

4. Attacks are very sud- 
den, and are never preceded, 
and seldom accompanied by 
any symptoms of fever. 

5. There are frequently 
short intermissions. 



hiflammation of the Bowels. 

1. Pulse very quick and 
small. Fever often in- 
creases the pulsations to 
double the healthy number. 
In violent fever, attended 
with inflammation of the 
bowels, the strokes some 
times rise to one hundred a 
minute, or more. 

2. He lies down, and 
suddenly rises up again. 
seldom rolling upon his back. 

3. The legs and ears 
generally cold. 

4. Attacks are generally 
gradual, and are commonly 
preceded, and always ac- 
companied, by symptoms of 
fever. 

5. No intermissions can 
be observed. 



COLIC. 

Causes are numerous. The principal are an over- 
loaded stomach, particularly when water is given imme- 
diately before or immediately after a large allowance of 
food ; violent exertion on a full stomach ; a sudden 
change of diet, particularly from hay to grass, and the 
reverse ; the change to grass is still worse if the feed be 
very luxuriant, and the evil of a change from grass to 
lay, (which produces constipation,) is aggravated by 






HORSES. 109 

feeding provender freely, particularly Indian com, if the 
animal has not been accustomed to it. We have known 
severe cases of colic by a change from grass to hay and 
corn. 

Sometimes a change from oats to barley will produce 
colic j and so will a large allowance of any food to which 
the horse has not been accustomed, as raw potatoes, car- 
rots, turnips, or other green food, wfrich produces fer- 
mentation. If a horse swallows his food hastily, without 
mastication, he is liable to colic. Feeding too often, that 
is, filling the stomach with one meal before the previous 
one is digested, and the contrary extreme of long fasting, 
and then full and rapid feeding, is apt to produce colic. 
Cold water, in excess, is sometimes a cause. 

Symptoms. The horse is taken suddenly ill, and 
slackens his pace, and sometimes attempts to lie down. 
Again, he falls down suddenly, and rolls, and perhaps 
starts up suddenly. If in the stable, he paws with his 
fore feet ; and, if the pain be severe, he is in constant 
motion, and strikes his belly with his hind ones. He 
lies down and rolls ; in moments of comparative ease, he 
looks wistfully at his flanks. When standing, he makes 
fruitless attempts to urinate, and the keeper thinks there 
is u something wrong with his water. 7 ' In a little while, 
the belly swells, perhaps mostly in the right flank. In 
severe cases, the swelling is usually general. As the 
disease increases, the pain becomes intense j he dashes 
about with terrible violence ; the perspiration runs in 
streams, and his contortions are frightful. [See other 
symptoms, in the last article.] 

Remedy. The fermentation should be stopped, and 
the digestive powers reestablished. A good old-fash- 
ioned medicine is whiskey and pepper, or gin and pep- 
per. About a gill and a half of spirits to a tea-spoonful 
of pepper, given in a quart of milk, or warm water. If 
the pain does not abate in thirty minutes, repeat the 
dose ; and again in an hour, if necessary. Rub the 
horse's belly with a soft wisp, and walk him about 
gently. Give the medicine as early as possible. 

A Better Remedy should be prepared thus : — Take 
a quart of good brandy ; add four ounces sweet spirits 
10 * 



110 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

of nitre, three ounces whole ginger, and three ounces 
of cloves. In eight days it will be ready for use. The 
dose is not named. This quantity would be enough foi 
five or six strong doses, or eight or ten moderate doses. 

Another. An ounce of laudanum, given in a little 
water, has invariably succeeded with some who have 
tried it many times. Laudanum is a powerful anti-irri- 
tant, and a diffusive stimulant. Thlere is no danger in 
giving this medicine at the commencement of the disease ; 
but if a fever and inflammation have set in, it would be 
improper. This condition of the system would require 
bleeding, purging, and clystering, and frequently the 
application of cold water to the surface, immediately 
followed by rubbing, wisping dry, and warm covering. 

Another. As soon as the animal is attacked, make 
a strong soot tea, and add half a pint of whiskey, new 
rum, or other spirit, and pour it down. 

Another. Take a handful of the white part of hen- 
dung, and simmer it a few minutes in a quart of human 
urine ; strain, and drench the horse with it, and if not 
effectual, repeat the dose in half an hour. 

Another. Give a quart of common salt and water, 
as strong as it can be made. 

Another. Give half a pint or a pint of linseed oil. 

Another. Half a pint of hot drops is excellent. 

Another. Put a pint of hot wood-ashes and embers 
into two quarts of cold water, and stir. Cut off an inch 
and a half of hand tobacco, and shred it into the mix- 
ture. Stir all up ; let it set fifteen minutes and settle ; 
then pour off a common junk bottle full, and drench 
your horse. It is called a speedy cure. A writer in the 
Southern Planter says that he has seen this given in 
one hundred cases, without a single failure, and that it 
would not injure a well horse. 

Remarks. Sometimes there is an introsusception, or 
falling of one part of the bowels into another j or a 
doubling of the intestines, so as to completely stop the 
passage . In such cases, it may be impossible to afford any 
relief; and doses of physic and other medicine which pro 
duce fermentation, may only aggravate the difficulties 
Back-rake, and give a powerful exciting injection, which 






HORSES. Ill 

may open the bowels ; and give alkaline medicines, 
such as chloride of lime or ammonia, to absorb the gases 
and reduce the swelling. 

In all severe cases of colic, back-rake, and give excit 
ing injections. [See page 46.] These aid physic, and 
all other remedies, and frequently give immediate relief, 
alone. They are sure, and they generally obviate the 
danger that often attends giving powerful doses of 
physic, when the bowels are constipated. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE STOMACH AND 
INTESTINES. 

When either the stomach or intestines are inflamed, 
the other part is generally soon affected from continuity. 

Causes. Much the same as those that produce fever ; 
such as sudden check by cold, to the external parts, 
while the bowels are under excitement, from over-action, 
hard labor, fatigue, excessive heat, the operation of cor- 
dials, &c. Also, long rests in currents of air ; driving 
into cold water when covered with perspiration ; and 
neglect of the necessary evacuations. It is often brought 
on by costiveness. 

Symptoms. [See them contrasted with those of colic, 
page 108.] 

Remedy. Bleeding is often practised, but it is not 
absolutely necessary. Give gentle physic, with soothing 
herb tea. If there be severe costiveness, back-rake, and 
give injections, such as recommended on page 46, for 
inflamed bowels. Exciting medicines and injections 
should be carefully avoided, as they aggravate the 
disease. 

After an operation on the bowels, give sedative and 
astringent teas. Raspberry tea combines both of these 
qualities, and has been used for horses with excellent 
success. Give light and laxative food. Give green 
herbage, if in the season ; if not, give a little clover 
hay, and pure straw, mashes, potatoes, fcc. Curry well, 
and rub thoroughly, to promote a general circulation, 
and invite the blood outwardly. 



112 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



BOTS. 

The horse-fly, or bot-fly, (Oestrus equi,) appears in 
July, and continues till cool nights in the fall ; she lays 
her egg on those parts of the horse liable to be licked by 
his tongue, on which he takes the eggs, and they soon 
find their way to the stomach, where they are hatched ; 
or they hatch on the horse, and may be passed into the 
stomach. 

The young bots adhere to the stomach by little hooks, 
and are nourished by the mucus of the stomach, or the 
food it contains, until the next spring, or first of the 
summer, when, having attained full size in the larvae 
state, they drop their hold, and are carried along with 
the contents of the stomach, and voided. They then 
burrow in the ground, and remain a few weeks in the 
chrysalis state, when they undergo a more important 
transformation, and become flies, or perfect insects, 
pursuing the course of their predecessors. 

This is the course that nature has provided for their 
propagation j and some persons contend that bots never 
injure a horse, but are beneficial. Others contend that 
they never injure a healthy horse ; but when a horse is 
diseased, they are deprived of their usual food, and then 
they may seize upon the stomach, with a view of clear- 
ing out for better quarters. 

Bots have sometimes collected in large numbers, and 
stopped up the passages to and from the stomach, and 
have thus occasioned death. 

Numerous remedies have been recommended for the 
destruction of bots, which are said to be sure j and yet 
it is contended that any medicine sufficiently powerful 
to kill them would kill the horse also; for bots have 
lived in rum, twenty -five hours ; in a decoction of 
tobacco, eleven hours ; in strong elixir or vitriol, two 
hours ; in spirits of turpentine, forty-five minutes ; in 
fish oil, linseed oil, and brine, ten hours, without any 
effect. More powerful substances would kill the horse. 

Yet certain medicines may disgust and nauseate the 
bots, and others may be palatable, and serve to quiet 



HORSES. 113 

them ; or this vexatious creature may gulp down luxu- 
rious food, and become so extended as to allow medi- 
cines to act upon him more, powerfully, or he may 
become drowsy with satiety, or dormant, or drank, and, 
like bipeds thus situated, know not what he is about, 
and let go his hold, and be carried off by a powerful 
cathartic. 

Many a horse that has had the colic, inflammation of 
the bowels, obstinate constipation, or other disease, has 
been doctored for the bots, and sometimes killed by im- 
proper treatment, or by numerous aDd powerful doses ; 
when he might have been cured, with good manage- 
ment, or nature would have done the work if he had 
been let alone. In one case, boiling water was poured 
down a horse's throat, to destroy the bots, and it was 
effectual ; but it was similar to the case of poor Pat Mur- 
phy, who was sentenced to be hanged, and saved his life 
by dying in prison. Again, a medicine may cure the 
colic, or the horse may recover in spite of the medicine, 
and then that medicine is recommended as infallible for 
bots. 

As the symptoms of the bots and colic are similar, and 
one may be mistaken for the other, it may be well to 
give a medicine that is good for both. Be cautious 
about giving powerful doses in uncertain cases. Some- 
times horses are supposed to have the bots when consti- 
pation of the bowels is the trouble . 

Symptoms. Sometimes old horses that are hard 
worked exhibit no symptoms until a short time before a 
severe attack, or death. In young horses, the symptoms 
are more evident. In general, the horse loses flesh, eats 
sparingly, coughs, bites his flanks*, strikes forcibly on the 
ground with his fore feet, and at his belly with his hind 
ones ; shows symptoms of uneasiness, such as groaning, 
and looking back on his sides, lying down, &c. His 
belly projecting and hard. In violent cases, without 
remedy, these symptoms increase, and a discharge from 
the nose commonly takes place, and at length stiffness 
of the legs and neck, staggering, laborious breathing, 
spasms, and death. 

Preventives. Make as few sudden changes in food 
10* 



114 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

as possible. Be careful to keep the horse in a healthy 
state. Keep him well supplied with salt. Occasionally 
mix with the salt five parts of wood ashes, or give ashes 
in his water. Give occasionally a table spoonful of lime 
with his food. Give him, once a week, a little sage with 
his fodder. 

The eggs or nits may be scraped off the horse with a 
knife. By applying a warm, moist rag to them, they 
will soon hatch and be destroyed, if the horse be kept 
from taking them on his tongue. Apply grease or oil to 
the eggs, and it will destroy them ; and it is said it will 
prevent the fly depositing any more ; but to effect this, 
it should be repeated frequently. 

Feed the horse occasionally with the heads of rye ; 
this cuts out and carries off the grubs. If more conve- 
nient, the rye may be fed in the sheaf. J. L. Smith, 
Esq., an extensive dealer in horses, at the south, recom- 
mends this very highly. Tobacco leaves, cut fine, or 
coarse horse-hair, mixed with a horse's provender, will 
prevent the bots and worms collecting in the maw, and 
will often kill them. But as hair is indigestible, it 
should be avoided. A farmer of much experience says 
that he never knew a horse to be troubled with bots that 
was fed with a few raw potatoes every week. For 
other preventives, use some of the mild remedies recom- 
mended. 

MR. SCOTT'S VIEWS. 

In the Indiana Farmer, S. J. Scott makes the follow- 
ing observations : — 

1. Wild horses, in a state of nature, never die of bots. 

2. Domestic horses -that run at large never die of 
bots. 

3. Horses whose food is not changed, or stinted, and 
who are not over-heated, never die of bots. 

4. The bot worm does not eat through the stomach, 
but is invariably found attached to the stomach of the 
horse, by its tail, and goes through tail foremost. 

5. Bots are most apt to hurt a horse in the spring and 
fall, or soon after changing the food from dry to green, 
and the reverse. 



HORSES. 115 

His Theory. The bot worm eats of the the food the 
horse eats, and has its preference ; and when deprived 
of its choice food, or stinted in quantity, it pierces the 
horse's stomach with the horns in its tail, by which it also 
adheres to its position, and continues to bore deeper, and 
finally gets through. The gases and juices of the stom- 
ach escape into the abdomen through the holes made by 
the bots, which soon destroys the horse. 

The worm is necessary for the health of the horse, by 
piercing (not through) the coats of the stomach, and 
exciting the appetite by irritation. But error of food 
induces it to irritate too long, and pierce through the 
stomach. 

Sometimes bots collect in such numbers within the 
lower orifice of the oesophagus, or swallow, as to choke 
the horse, and he dies suddenly. 



Mr. Scott offers the following preventives and reme- 
dies, some of which are already suggested : — 

1. Never change the horse's food from green to dry, 
suddenly and perseveringly. 

2. Never change from dry to green, unless you can 
keep him to the green food a length of time. 

3. Observe the same rule in changing from corn to 
oats, and the reverse. 

4. If the horse is seized with bots, either drench him 
with something the worm will not eat. and that will 
nauseate it, such as sweetened milk, blood, fresh meat, 
entrails of fowls. &c, or drench him with something 
that will satisfy the cravings of hunger in the bots, such 
as green moss of old logs, or a decoction of moss, green 
blue grass, &c. 

5. Or, which should be first tried; — if the horse, 
when found sick, does not refuse to eat, turn him into a 
lot ot green blue grass, or if in the winter, into a wood 
where different kinds of moss grow, and the horse will 
soon make a selection that will quiet the bots. 



116 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



OTHER REMEDIES. 

Pat eight ounces each, of bees-wax, mutton tallow, 
and sugar, into a quart of new milk, and warm it till all 
is melted ; then put it into a bottle, and give it just before 
the wax begins to harden. Two hours after, give physic, 
and the bots will come away, with wax sticking to them. 

Another. Give a table spoonful of slacked lime, in a 
bran mash or other food, three times a week. In cases 
evidently severe, give a dose every day, for several days. 
A writer in the American Farmer says that he consulted 
authorities, and tried various experiments, in vain ; and 
after giving lime in bran mashes, three times a week, 
for two weeks, the bots began to pass off. He has since 
used lime, and has not lost a horse with bots. Voided 
bots die in lime 

Another. Vinegar, soft soap, gin, molasses, half a 
gill each, poured down while foaming. A correspondent 
of the Albany Cultivator, says this is a speedy cure, and 
he has given it in fifty cases, with good effect. 

Another. Two ounces of soot in a quart of milk. 

Another. Dr. Phillips, of Mississippi, recommends, 
in cases where a horse is supposed to have the bots, when 
in reality it may be colic or other disorder, to give sage 
or soot tea, or an ounce of laudanum ; the first two may 
be given freely, but the last should not be given oftener 
than every six hours. 

Another. Give the horse a few sheaves of barley, 
and it will clear every bot out of him ; so says a writer 
in the " Western Farmer and Gardener,'- who says he 
never knew it to fail. 

Another. One quart of new milk, sweetened with 
honey, molasses or sugar, given fasting ; and in two 
hours drench with a pint of brine, as strong as hot water 
will dissolve common salt. Two hours after, give a pint 
of linseed oil. 

Another. Half a pint of train oil, (sperm or other 
fish oil will answer, but not so good,) given to a horse, 
will usually give immediate relief. 

Another. One quart of new milk and one pound of 
sugar; mix, warm, and give. Prepare the same again, 



HORSES. 117 

and add half a pint of ground mustard-seed, and admin- 
ister. 

Another. Sweeten one quart of milk with honey or 
molasses, and give it ; then powder half an ounce of 
aloes, and give it directly in a strong decoction of savine 
Doughs ; if the worms have not eaten through the intes- 
tines, this is sure. 

Another. Take half a gill of spirits of turpentine, 
turn it into the hand, and rub it on the breast. 

INDIGESTION, OR STOMACH STAGGERS. 

Causes. Over-distention of the stomach. The horse 
may get loose and eat to excess of grain, beans, peas, 
&c. ; or he may work longer than usual, and then eat 
too freely after fasting ; he may eat a meal before the 
previous one is digested, and thus overtask the digestive 
powers. There are other causes, and sometimes it is 
difficult to account for. 

Symptoms. Staggering, sleepiness, unconsciousness, 
hard breathing, staring eye, apparent insensibility and 
helplessness. Sometimes this drowsiness abates, and 
violence, as in inflammation of the brain, succeeds, only 
not to so great an extent. 

Remedy. Give injections ; give oil for physic ; and 
feed moderately on light food that will keep the bowels 
open. 

YELLOWS, OR JAUNDICE 

This disease is similar to jaundice in men. Bile is 
secreted in the liver, and passes by a duct into the intes- 
tines, and it is highly important to digestion and a healthy 
state of the bowels. Sometimes, from inflammation or 
other disease in the liver, or obstructions in the gail-duct, 
or from thickened bile, this fluid is interrupted in it? 
natural passage into the intestines, and is thrown back 
into the circulation, giving a yellow tinge to the whole 
system. The horse and deer, unlike all other animals, 
have no gall-bladder, but the bile passes directly from 
the liver, through the gall-duct, to the intestines. 



118 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

Causes. It is sometimes caused by low condition, but 
more frequently by high feeding and want of exercise. 
Inaction is a fruitful cause of this disease, both in ani- 
mals and the human race. 

Symptoms . Yellowness of the eyes, mouth and tongue, 
higher yellow color of the urine, palpitation of the heart, 
weariness in the limbs, dulness, stupidity, sleepiness, 
drooping of the head, general debility ; the hair of the 
mane and tail becomes loose ; the dung scanty and pale, 
generally hard, and sometimes covered with slime. 

General Treatment. In all cases see that the bowels 
are in good condition ; this may be effected by giving 
laxative food, such as bran mashes and roots ; and if 
there be costiveness, this feed for two or three days will 
prepare the bowels for physic, a moderate dose of which 
should be given j and if the bowels be not relaxed a little 
by the mashes, back-rake, and give exciting injections 
before giving physic. 

It would be well to back-rake as soon as the disease is 
discovered, if there is much costiveness. Continue light, 
laxative and green food. In very severe cases, that will 
not yield to medicines, roweling may be resorted to. 
Most cases may be cured by diet, (and physic, if the 
bowels do not become relaxed by the food,) and some of 
the following medicines. Bleeding should be avoided, 
as the pulse is generally slow and weak. 

Remedy. One fourth of an ounce of gamboge, half an 
ounce of saltpetre, one ounce of alum, one ounce of green 
copperas, (sulphate of iron) — pulverize all, and put them 
into a bottle with a pint of cold water. Stop tight, shake 
well, and let it stand over night, and it will be fit for use. 
Give a table spoonful for a dose, three mornings run- 
ning j then omit three, and so on until nine doses have 
been given. 

Another. Take equal quantities of aloes, Venetian 
soap, and honey ; make into pills, and give half an ounce 
daily, for a week. If this does not cure, steep celandine 
and saffron in cider, and give a quart a day. 

In the human subject, raw eggs have cured in obsti- 
nate cases. 

From our youth up we have known the following as a 



HORSES. 119 

sovereign family medicine, in jaundice. It may be used 
by patients in a very weak, low state, and with a cough, 
without injury, when powerful astringents would not be 
safe. It restores to action the digestive powers, corrects 
the derangement in the biliary organs, relieves when 
food injures, or prevents the injury, restores the appe- 
tite, and regulates and does not bind the bowels, like 
most astringents. "We have no doubt that it is valuable 
for animals, in the same complaint. Prepare it thus : 

Take the bark of white ash ; if from old trees, take off 
the ross to the live part. If green, partially dry a part 
of it ; sweep the oven, and kindle the bark in it, using 
the dry part j then lay on the green ; burn in a slow 
draught ; throw in the ends and raise up the bottom, and 
it will all burn to pure white ashes. Put two heaping 
table spoonfuls into a bottle of very good, strong old cider, 
and shake it a few times. A common wine-glass full is 
a dose for the human patient, to be taken three times a 
day, before eating. Give an animal a pint for a dose, 
sprinkled on fodder, or mixed w T ith oats, bran, or meal, 
or turn it down the throat. A larger dose may be neces- 
sary. A quart would not injure. 

"We regard this as one of the safest medicines in all 
conditions of the system, and one of the most efficacious. 
We have known it to cure in almost hopeless cases, when, 
from the severity of the disorder, it was thought that 
consumption was connected with it. "White ash is the 
variety used so extensively as timber for carriages, han- 
dles for hoes, shovels, forks, rakes, and many other pur- 
poses. 

GLANDERS. 

This is one of the most formidable and disagreeable 
of diseases. It commences in an irritation in the mem- 
brane of the nose • as it advances, tubercles form, matter 
is discharged, the bones of the nose and head become 
diseased and carious, and the poison is absorbed into 
the circulation, and affects the whole system. 

This disease may be produced, as it often is, by bad 
•table management, such as hot, filthy and ill-ventilated 



120 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

stables ; or it may be communicated by infection, con- 
tagion, or inoculation, which last form includes conta- 
gion. In some few cases, nature will cure, if the cause 
of the disease be removed. But almost all cases of 
confirmed glanders will prove fatal in spite of care and 
medicine. If taken in season, some cases may be cured. 
Almost every drug and medicine has been used for this 
disease, and generally without success j a few cases have 
been cured by a decoction of tobacco. It is of the high- 
est importance to guard against its production or propa 
gat ion. 

Dr. Burgis says : "I have known several instances in 
which there was no possibility of contact with glander- 
ous matter, and yet the disease was developed in healthy 
horses. A gentleman of fortune in the west of Ireland 
had had his stud infected with glanders ; every particle 
of wood- work in the stables, including stalls, rack, man- 
ger, &c, was taken down and replaced with new mate- 
rials ;' the plastering on the walls was completely re- 
moved, and the pavement ripped up ; and all was replaced 
with entirely new work ; but the first horses that were 
again put into those stables became infected, and they 
were ultimately razed to the ground. It would even 
appear that the contagious principle remains for a long 
period in any stable where glanders may happen." 

GLANDERS IN MEN. 

A number of cases have occurred of glanders in men, 
from inoculation, by getting some of the glanderous mat- 
ter from the horse on some part of the body where the 
skin was broken ; and some cases of glanders in men 
have occurred without inoculation, but by infection. In 
Paris, a groom slept in a stable occupied by a glandered 
horse ; some days after the death of the horse, he was 
attacked with the same disease, characterized by pustular 
and gangrenous sores over the whole body. He died, 
and with some matter from the sores, a foundered mare 
was inoculated, and she had a true case of the glanders, 
of which she died. 

A young groom was in the habit of wiping the face of 
a glandered horse with his pocket handkerchief; he 



HORSES. 121 

aught the disease, of which he died in dreadful agony, 

very bone in his head becoming carious. In severe 

cases, there is no cure for man or horse. We have an 

account of one case being cured in man, by filling the 

wounds with lint or cotton, steeped in turpentine. 

In managing glandered horses, great care should be 
taken to prevent the infectious matter coming in con- 
tact with the membraneous linings of the mouth or nose. 

It was stated in an English paper, in 1844, that since, 
the year 1838, no less than thirty persons had sunk un- 
der this terrible malady, which counted as many victims 
as patients. 

Scarcely a year passes without an account in Euro- 
pean journals of some person dying of glanders. A stu- 
dent lately died in Paris of glanders, contracted by cutting 
himself while dissecting a glandered horse at the cele- 
brated veterinary school of Alfort. He had the best 
medical aid from the beginning of the sad occurrence. 

HORSE-AIL. 

This disease occasionally prevails extensively among 
horses. It is often very severe, and unless properly at- 
tended to in season, it gradually reduces the horse to a 
skeleton, and often proves fatal. Badly managed cases 
sometimes cause the glanders • otherwise the glanders is 
not common in this part of the country. It prevails most 
in the cold season, generally commencing in the fall. 
Horse-ail is infectious, and very liable to occur without 
infection, as it is common to young horses, which do not 
go from home, or come in contact with others that are 
infected. The English call this disease strangles. 

Symptoms. Stoppage of the head, running at the nose, 
swallowing in the throat, loss of appetite, dulness about 
the eyes, general stupidity, and sudden debility. The 
symptoms are similar to those of a cold, or the influenza 
in the human race. It often causes a tumor under the 
jaw. 

Remedy. E. Wood, Esq., an intelligent correspon- 
dent of the " Maine Farmer," recommends the following 
treatment : Take up a piece of skin on the breast, and 
11 



122 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

cut crossways through the skin, so as to make a hole 
sufficient to get in the forefinger, which put in and skin 
downwards and crossways the length of the finger. 
Fill the bag thus made with cut raw onion. Then bleed, 
if the cough is hard and distressing ; and feed with pota- 
toes, if the animal can eat them ; if not, give gentle laxa- 
tives. Under this treatment, he has never lost a horse 
or colt, and they have seldom lost much flesh. 

Another. We have treated horses in the following 
manner, with success : Make a slow fire of old boots, 
shoes, rags, herbs, roots, &c. When fired a little, 
smother them so as to make much smoke and steam ; 
then set a barrel, without heads, over the fire, and hold 
the horse's head down in the barrel, and smoke him 
well. This will soon produce a copious running at the 
nose, and he will be so well pleased that he will volun- 
tarily hold his head in the smoke. Continue this half an 
hour or more daily. Meanwhile, give him potatoes and 
warm bran mashes, and gentle physic, if there be much 
costiveness which the laxative food will not remove. If 
he has much fever, treat him for that. 

Further Treatment. In addition to other remedies, 
if the case be severe and the blood has become bad, put 
a rowel in the breast; and if the swelling under the 
throat tends to suppuration, encourage it by applying 
emollient poultices, or blistering ointment, and foment- 
ing baths ; and when the swelling becomes soft, and the 
matter fluctuating, lance it. Blow snuff up the nostrils. 
Keep warm; give warm, soothing drinks; curry and 
rub frequently. Give a little walking exercise in pleas- 
ant weather, if the animal has strength to bear it with- 
out fatigue. If there be much fever or cough, treat as 
recommended in these disorders. Keep the head run- 
ning and the bowels loose ; and if the heat and fever 
abate, and the animal is poor, give tolerably nourishing 
food, continuing roots or mashes to keep the bowels in a 
good state. 



HORSES. 123 



DISTEMPER, OR EPIDEMIC CATARRH. 

Symptoms. This disease usually commences with a 
shivering fit, hot mouth, heaving of the flanks, and 
cough. There is a discharge from the nose, first watry, 
then thicker, and then offensive matter. The glands of 
the throat swell, weakness succeeds, the legs swell, and 
there are swellings on the body, but these are favorable. 

Remedy. Sweat well, and rub till quite dry; Dack- 
rake ; give two drachms of Barbadoes aloes, and in 
twelve hours another drachm. If the constipation be 
obstinate, give exciting injections. Clothe warmly, par- 
ticularly about the head. If the animal will not eat, on 
account of sore throat, clyster ; hot meshes should be 
put under his nose, in a nose-bag, to encourage the run- 
ning. Feed with corn meal, bran or mashes, and damp- 
ened hay. Potatoes are good. If he refuses to eat, 
drench with very thin mash or thick gruel. 

This disease is similar to the horse-ail, or a modifi- 
cation of the same disease, and the treatment is similar. 
The steaming and smoking recommended in that disease 
would be good to clear out the head. Camphorated 
spirits, with the addition of cayenne pepper, is good for 
the throat, rubbed on externally j so is the liniment on 
page 51. 

COLD, OR COMMON CATARRH. 

The Causes of this disease are numerous and the ef- 
fects are various, as different parts are affected, and an 
affection of the same part varies at different periods. 
Sometimes the head is principally affected; at other 
times the eyes share largely in the complaint ; again it 
may be mostly in the nasal orifices, producing a copious 
discharge of mucus ; at times it is mostly in the mouth ; 
again in the throat ; and sometimes in the back and 
limbs, producing stiffness and soreness. In many cases, 
this disease is similar to horse-ail. 

It arises from the same causes as bronchitis, pleurisy 
and pneumonia, as named on other pages. It is most 



124 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

common in the spring and fall, not only from the changes 
of weather at these seasons, but from the great change 
the horse undergoes from moulting or shedding his coat, 
which produces fever, debility, sweating on the least ex- 
ertion, and susceptibility to colds and other kindred dis- 
eases. 

Colds are often produced by suddei changes in the 
temperature of the atmosphere, without proper protec- 
tion. Sometimes they are caused by a peculiar state of 
the atmosphere, and then they become epidemical, and 
often very extensive and severe. 

The Symptoms are numerous and various, according 
to the nature arid severity of the disease, and the part 
that is affected. Sometimes there is moderate fever j 
sometimes the inflammation is high ; at other times the 
pulse is slow and weak. The eyes are sometimes much 
affected, and are red, dull, running and weak, and occa- 
sionally much inflamed. The head is often affected in- 
ternally, and there is a copious discharge from the nose. 
Sometimes the mouth is inflamed and sore, so that the 
animal cannot chew without great difficulty. The throat 
often shares largely in the evil, and is so inflamed that 
swallowing is very difficult. Sometimes there is shiver- 
ing, the mouth hot, the coat staring, the belly tucked up, 
the nose red, the flanks heave. These are the most 
prominent sympioms. Some exist in one case, others in 
another. 

Remedies. These are various, as there are different 
degrees of severity in the disease, or it varies in its pecu- 
liar nature, and differeiit parts of the system are affected, 
or all share in its influence. The best remedy is good 
management in avoiding causes, and predisposing 
causes, and placing the patient under favorable circum- 
stances for recovery. In many cases medicines will not 
avail much, as the disease will run its course in spite of 
them, and nature may work a cure in time. When there 
is high fever, treat the horse for that affection. If there 
be costiveness, remove it, using mild means, if sufficient, 
and powerful ones if necessary. While the fever con- 
tinues, feed lightly, and with laxative food. But if the 
animal is in a low condition, and there is no fever, give 
nourishing food; keep warm, and apply remedies foi 






HORSES. 

the local affections. If the head is affected, promote the 
discharge, as in horse-ail. For inflammation of the eyes, 
or cough, treat as in those diseases. For sore mouth, use 
a wash of alum-water, or a strong astringent tea j for 
sore throat, treat as in distemper. 

COUGH. 

In all disorders accompanied by a cough, the true 
cause should be ascertained. Sometimes the cough is 
only a consequence of a chronic or seated disease, as is 
the case in heaves, &c. At other times it is symp- 
tomatic of recent inflammation in the throat or lungs 
Sometimes it is brought on by horse-ail, which is an 
inflammation of the mucous membranes of the head and 
glands about the throat. We have found salt, given 
freely,, together with an occasional dose of saltpetre, to 
be an excellent remedy in cases where a horse has had 
the horse-ail, and the cough holds on after the original 
disease seems to have gone. For a dry, husky cough, 
not attended with the heaves, green or laxative food, 
such as roots, or mashes of scalded bran, in which is put 
the pulverized root of elecampane and lovage, has been 
found beneficial. If there should be found indications 
of heaves, put a spoonful of ginger, once per day, in his 
provender, and allow him to drink freely of lime water. 
Horses that are kept on musty hay, will very soon begin 
to cough. The best remedy for musty hay cough is, to 
change the diet to good, sweet clover. — Maine Farmer. 

Another Remedy. Human urine put into a a bucket 
of water, and given to the horse, or sprinkled on his fod- 
der. This remedy has been much used by some, and 
with excellent success. 

Another. The boughs of the cedar have been used 
as a remedy, with complete success. They should be 
cut fine, and mixed with the grain given to the horse. 

Another. Arse-smart, as dry fodder, has often been 
given to horses for cough, with good success. A dose 
of this fodder occasionally, in the winter, is good for the 
health of the horse*; and it should be saved for that pur 
pose. 

11* 



126 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

Another. We once cured a horse of an obstinate 
rough, on which a number of medicines were tried with- 
out effect, by feeding him exclusively on sheep's orts. 
They have peculiar medicinal properties, which they 
imbibe from the dun.g and urine. [See Calves among 
Sheep, under the head " Neat Cattle."] 

Another. Boil a small quantity of flax-seed ; mix it 
m a mash of scalded bran, adding a few ounces of coarse 
sugar, or some molasses or honey. 

BRONCHITIS. 

This is an inflammation of the air passages in the 
lungs, and it often extends to the windpipe and throat. 
It is produced in the same way as a common cold, and 
is often the extension of inflammation from the throat 
downward. It is sometimes slight, and soon disappears ; 
at other times, though it may come on gradually, or 
almost imperceptibly, it becomes obstinate and danger- 
ous, as it may extend to the lungs, and affect them also. 
Therefore it deserves early attention. The causes are 
the same as those of influenza, pleurisy, inflammation of 
the lungs, and colds. 

Symptoms. Cough, loss of appetite, a discharge from 
the nostrils, quickening of the pulse and breathing. 
These are the early indications of this disease. The 
pulse soon becomes very quick and weak, the respiration 
accelerated, the membrane of the nose and eyelids of a 
deep red color, and the discharge from the nose dimin 
ished or suspended. When these last symptoms ar? 
exhibited, it frequently proves fatal. 

But it generally appears in a milder form, with onlj 
the symptoms first named. It is distinguished from 
common catarrh by the quickness of the pulse, ranging 
from forty-five to sixty pulsations in a minute, and the 
disturbance in the breathing. It may be known from 
inflammation of the lungs, by warmth at the surface 
and extremities, and the more moderate action of the 
pulse. Sometimes it is complicated with other diseases, 
and the symptoms will confound the practitioner. 

Remedy. Those who practice bleeding to great extent, 






HORSES. 127 

onsider it necessary in this case ; but a cure may gen- 
erally be effected without this operation. Give a mod- 
erate dose of physic, but not of aloes, in this case ; and 
if there be costiveness, give clysters ; and back-rake, if 
necessary, owing to obstinate constipation. Give the 
following fever medicine, or some other sedative dose : — 
Powdered digitalis, one drachm ; emetic tartar, one 
drachm ; saltpetre, three drachms ; sulphur, one drachm : 
linseed meal, two drachms ; beat together, and make 
into a ball, and give twice a day ; or mix in gruel, and 
turn down. 

After the inflammation has abated, a seton may be 
inserted in the breast, or the breast and sides may be 
blistered. Keep warm ; well clothed ; rub often ; allow 
pure air ; give bran mashes and green food ; or, if in 
winter, give carrots or potatoes, and a little clover hay : 
but feed lightly, until the inflammation abates. 

PLEURISY. 

This is an inflammation of the pleura, which is a thin 
membrane enclosing the lungs and lining the chest. 

Causes. The principal are exposure to cold and wet. 
sudden changes in temperature, hard riding, and the 
absurd practice of riding horses, when hot, into cold 
water, to save trouble in washing them ; riding against 
a sharp wind on a very cold day • and wounds pene- 
trating into the chest, and injuring the pleura. 

Symptoms. In some respects, there is no difference 
between the symptoms of an inflammation of the pleura 
and the lungs. Fits of shivering ; loss of spirits and 
appetite ; hanging of the head, and disinclination to 
move, are the same in both complaints. In pleurisy, 
the cough is shorter and more painful . The breathing 
is different. In the lung complaint, the inspiration or 
drawing in of air is very slow, and the expiration or out- 
breaking is quick, and almost spasmodic. In pleurisy, 
the inspiration is a short, sudden effort, and seems 
broken off suddenly, before completed; and then the 
animal expires as slowly as possible, in order to avoid 
the repetition of the painful spasm. 



128 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

As pleurisy is not so deep-seated as the other disorder, 
there is more pain and tenderness on tapping or pressing 
on the side. The pain is sometimes so great, that the 
horse lies down and rolls. When the lungs are in- 
flamed, the membrane of the nose, which is an extension 
from the lungs, is inflamed also, and looks extremely 
reel ; but as there is no connection between the pleura 
and nose, it is not so red in pleurisy. Sometimes the 
color is not changed until the inflammation extends to 
the lungs. 

When the lungs are inflamed, the extremities are cold 5 
but in this disease, the heat is increased, or the tempera- 
ture is variable. In that disorder, the pulse is rarely 
quickened ; but in this, it is strong and rapid. It is 
necessary to observe these nice distinctions. 

Remedy. Sweat and rub freely to invite blood out. 
Give injections and gentle physic ; and then give seda- 
tive medicines, and feed on light, cooling food, such as 
mashes, potatoes, or carrots, and green herbage, if in sea- 
son. Clothe the animal warmly, this will invite the blood 
outwardly to the skin, and reduce the internal heat. 
Frequent friction on the skin will also promote this 
favorable tendency of the blood. For the cough, give 
flax-seed tea, sweetened with molasses, sugar, or honey. 

* INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 

This disease, called also pneumonia, does not occur so 
often as many suppose ; as a common cold, catarrh, 
bronchitis, and pleurisy, are often mistaken for this dis- 
order 5 and as all these have their seat in the neighbor 
hood of the lungs, or on those parts connected with them, 
they will, when very severe, or when neglected, or ill 
treated, all tend to this complaint. 

Causes. They are numerous. The same as produce 
severe colds. The perspiration which is thrown off 
through the pores of the skin being checked, it is 
thrown upon the lungs. The blood, in a measure, 
leaves the extremities, and tends inwirdly, producing 
an unusual action on the vital organs. [See page 90.] 

Among the causes are, exposure to c ?ld and wet, sue- 



HORSES. 129 

den cooling after being heated ; neglect of drying prop 
erly after being wet ; [see page 89 ■] lying out cool 
nights after labor ; standing in the cold after being 
heated by fast driving ; sudden changes to cold, without 
sufficient protection ; over-exertion, and neglect : change 
from a warm to a colder stable j and sometimes a change 
from a cold to a hot stable. 

Symptoms. Shivering fits ; icy coldness in the legs 
ami oars: an obscure, oppressed feeling in the pulse, 
without material change in its motion, at first indicating 
congestion in the lungs, and the heart has not power to 
impel the blood onward; quick and laborious heaving 
of the flanks ; indication of pain by a turning of the 
head, and gazing at the sides ; standing stiff and 
bracing ; expansion of the nostrils ; drooping of the 
head ; mouth hot ; membrane of the nose red j entire 
loss of appetite. 

Remedy. Sweat freely, ( as on page 107. ) to aid 
the diaphonetic medicine. Give clysters, and if there 
be much costiveness, only mild clysters ; and feed bran 
mashes and warm gruel, and feed lightly on loosening 
food ; but do not give physic, on account of the sympa- 
thy between the lungs and the bowels. After the inflam- 
mation abates, if costiveness continue, give half doses of 
physic. In the beginning, the following, or some other 
sweating or diaphoretic medicine, should be given. 
Tartar emetic and asafcetida, one drachm each ; liquorice, 
cne drachm ; make into a ball, and put down the throat, 
or dissolve, and give in gruel. Clothe warm, and hand- 
rub thoroughly, but gently, on account of tenderness, to 
invite the blood outwardly. 

As pure air tends to abate the heat of the lungs, place 
the animal where he can enjoy it, but not in a current, 
nor where it is much colder than he has been accustomed 
to. If it be a little cooler, supply the deficiency of heat 
by warmer clothing. Close, hot stables are very inju- 
rious in this case ; and the animal seeks relief by 
placing his head in the direction of pure air, even some- 
times inhaling it from a crack or knot-hole. 

After the sweating, give some sedative medicine, such 
a> are good in fevers. Clover tea, or raspberry tea is 



130 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

good. Roweling is sometimes practised in severe cases, 
rubbing the seton in blistering ointment, to give more 
speedy and greater effect ; but generally, hand-rubbing, 
often and thoroughly, particularly on the legs, will obvi- 
ate the necessity of roweling. 

Blistering is preferred to roweling, as more neat and 
expeditious. An extensive application should be made 
over each side the chest. The following is a good blis- 
ter ointment for this purpose: — Powdered cantharides, 
five drachms ; lard, four ounces ; spirits of turpentine, 
one ounce ; or use cantharides with sweet oil or lard. 
Sometimes the rubbing on of spirits of turpentine is suf- 
ficient, without the blistering application. 

Some distinguished veterinarians object to roweling of 
Dlistering, until the inflammation has abated, as it tends 
at first to promote it ; others, of equal authority, think 
these modes may be resorted to, even in the early stages 
of the disease. This is only one among numerous cases 
in which we are led to inquire, " Who shall decide, when 
doctors disagree \ " 

HEAVES — THICK AND BROKEN WIND. 

Under this general term, are classed several affections, 
frequently originating from the same or similar causes ; 
all affecting seriously the respiration of the horse. There 
is broken wind and thick wind, which, in their various 
modifications, and degrees of severity, produce what are 
called, pipers, roarers, wheezers, whistlers, and grunters. 

Thick Wind. When the lungs are inflamed, there is 
a great deal of congestion, and many of the air-cells are 
filled with coagulated blood ; and when they have been 
long distended, that blood becomes organized, the cells 
obliterated, and this portion of the lungs a solid mass, 
unfit for respiration ; of course the act of breathing will 
be laborious, and more rapidly repeated, to make up the 
deficiency. This is called thick wind. Sometimes it is 
a consequence of bronchitis or catarrh ; and then it arises 
from the lining of the air passages being thickened by 
inflammation, which lessens the calibre of the air-tubes, 
and makes the breathing difficult ; and on this accoun . 
the breathing will be more rapid as well as laborious. 



HORSES. 131 

There are other causes of thick wind. A horse unaccus. 
tomed to exercise is thick- winded, because the lungs can- 
not at once accommodate themselves to the full and deep 
breathing which the exertion requires. A horse, under 
exertion, on a full stomach, is thick-winded, as there is 
not room for the lungs to expand freely. The practice 
of grooms in galloping horses after drinking, is very 
injurious, 

Remedy. There is no cure for cases arising from the 
obliteration of the cells in the lungs, and this shows the 
importance of prompt attention to those diseases which 
produce this complaint. Much may be done by good 
management to relieve the animal, and fit him for ser- 
vice. Give the food in small compass, feeding freely 
with roots and grain, and sparingly with fodder. Feed 
regular ; give water often ; give moderate exercise 
work moderately and regularly ; but not on a full stom 
ach. Let all the food be pure, and of a good quality 
and cut and moisten the fodder. In this way, the con- 
dition of the horse may be improved, so that he will do 
good service. 

Broken Wind is sometimes caused by violent and pro- 
tracted inflammation of the lungs ; it is also produced 
by over- working a thick- winded horse ; but it is more 
frequently caused by sudden exertion with a loaded 
stomach, either from eating or drinking. It is owing to 
a rupture of some of the cells of the lungs ; consequently 
the air is readily admitted during the expansion of the 
ungs, but in the expulsion of the air, it becomes en- 
tangled in the ruptured cells, and is forced out with 
great difficulty ; hence the in-breathing is naturally per- 
formed by one effort, and the out-breathing by two, 
occupying a longer time. 

"Remedy. There is no cure. Much may be done to 
alleviate. Pursue the course recommended for thick 
wind. [See page 97.] 

Heaves. Although there is no remedy for severe 
cases of heaves, yet horses may be so far relieved that 
they may appear to be cured, while under good manage- 
ment. We add several remedies, as they are regarded. 

Remedy. Two table spoonfuls of tar, mixed with the 



132 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

yolk of an egg, given in the morning, fasting, will be 
useful. 

Another. Lime-water, or a little powdered lime, in 
the feed. 

Another . Tar and honey, a table spoonful each ; 
ball licorice, half the quantity : opium, eight grains j 
mix, dissolve and give in a quart of new milk, every 
other morning, fasting, and feed on smart-weed hay. 

Another. A pound of antimony, four ounces of rosin, 
eight ounces of sulphur, eight ounces of saltpetre, pow- 
dered fine and thoroughly mixed. Give half a table 
spoonful once or twice a week. 

Another. Three quarts of sweet milk and a tea 
spoonful of oil of vitriol, (sulphuric acid ;) mix with the 
food. 

Another. The root of blue flag 'is said to be one of 
the best remedies. It may be used green or dry. If 
green, cut it fine ; if dry, pulverize it ; and give with 
meal or oats, morning and night. Half a table spoonful 
is a dose. After eating it a few times, horses like it. It 
is also good for stallions that have been injured by ex 
cess in their peculiar line. 

Asafoetida is considered a good ingredient in a medi- 
cine for the heaves. As it is strong, use only a small 
quantity. 

DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 

Strangury, or difficulty in staling, and suppression ot 
urine, are great evils that are incident to the urinary 
organs, and most people, judging from these prominent 
indications of disease, attribute them all to the same 
disease, and give the same medicines, which are diuret- 
ics, that in most cases have an injurious effect, aggra- 
vating the disorder, and increasing the pain. 

These evils are the result of several diseases, different 
in their nature, location, causes and remedies ; and we have 
here arranged them all under one general head, in order 
to obviate the confusion and difficulty that now exist, 
from a wrong view of the subject. Whether there is a 
suppression of urine from inflammation of the kidneys. 



HORSES. 133 

ur from the kidneys becoming inactive and dormant, so 
that the secretions are suspended, or a stoppage fiom a 
stricture at the neck of the bladder, or other cause, or an 
inflammation of the bladder, there will be, after a while, 
frequent vain and painful attempts to discharge urine. 
This leads superficial observers to treat all diseases of 
the urinary organs in the same manner. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS. 

This is a very serious disorder, as it attacks a part 
already, in too many cases, injured by previous absurd 
treatment. 

Causes are, over-fatigue, bad food, exposure, driving 
a horse long without staling, which produces excessive 
pain, from a large collection of water in the bladder that 
is absorbed by the kidneys, to their serious injury. Giv- 
ing diuretics too freely produces excessive action on the 
kidneys in the secretion of urine, which weakens and 
inflames them. This shows the importance of caution 
in treating this disease. Diuretics may afford temporary 
relief, but the disease will return with increased violence. 

Symptoms. There is considerable fever. This is 
clearly indicated by the heat of the mouth, the heaving 
of the flanks, and the acceleration of the pulse. The 
feeling of very acute pain is plainly shown by the fre- 
quent, steadfast gaze at the affected part ; and that part 
is marked out by the direction of the muzzle to the loins 
more than to the belly. There is disinclination to move, 
because the inflammation rapidly spreads from the kid- 
neys to the muscles of the loins, and the least motion of 
them will give intense pain. In order that there shall 
be as little stress as possible upon these muscles, the 
hind legs are straddled widely apart. 

This inability to move without pain assumes, in bad 
cases, the form of palsy of the hinder extremities, and 
occasionally runs on to actual palsy. If the hand is 
placed on the loins, an unnatural warmth is felt, and the 
horse shrinks and crouches under the slightest pressure. 

The urine, which, from the beginning, was voided 
with some difficulty, escapes in smaller and smaller 
quantities, and the discharge of it is accompanied bv 
12 



134 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

increasing pain. It becomes high-colored, perhaps 
bloody. It diminishes by degrees, until only g. few 
drops are voided at a time, and at length it ceases alto- 
gether ; yet still the horse strains on, and the straining 
is accompanied by increased agony. The secretion cf 
urine cannot be suspended but a little while without 
danger or death. 

Remedy. Profuse sweating is recommended. Then 
give physic, but not such as has a diuretic effect. Give 
no salts nor calomel. Give a moderate dose of aloes, with 
about one third dose of linseed oil. Give injections of 
warm water frequently, as it will aid the physic, and act 
as a fomentation in the neighborhood of the inflamma- 
tion. A decoction of marsh mallows is excellent as a 
mollifying clyster, and given as a dose, it has a soothing 
effect. 

Foment the loins with hot water, and apply a blister 
over them ; but use no blistering plaster or composition 
that contains cantharides or turpentine, as they have a 
diuretic effect, and sometimes cause great pain in the 
urinary organs. Apply the following poultice, which 
lias no such effect : Ground mustard and linseed meal, 
(or Indian meal,) equal parts 5 mix with boiling vinegar, 
and apply on the loins. This will have a very favorable 
effect. Give gentle physic and light laxative food, and 
give sedative medicines. 

If the horse does not regain the strength of his hind 
limbs, apply the following strengthening compound to 
his loins: Pitch, three pounds; tar, one pound; bees- 
wax, half a pound ; mix together, apply thick to the 
loins, when cool enough, and scatter some locks of light 
tow or other similar material, before it gets quite cool. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. 

Sometimes an inflammation of the mucus lining of 
the bladder exists at the same time with inflammation 
of the kidneys, and is caused by it ; as the nature of the 
urine is changed by the diseased state of the kidneys. 
It becomes acrid and irritates the coat of the bladder. 
Other causes of this disease, are stimulating food, poison- 
ous herbage, and foreign substances, such as a stone 01 
gravel in the bladder. 



HORSES. 135 

Symptoms. Frequency of staling; mingling of mu- 
cus, or pus, or blood, with the urine ; a slight additional 
heat felt when the hand is introduced into the rectum 
and rests on the bladder, and the acute pain which that 
pressure occasions, as shown by the shrinking of the 
animal. 

Remedy. Sweat freely, rub dry, and give aloes as 
physic ; only a mild dose, as the lower intestines sym- 
pathize with the sensitive state of the bladder. Give a 
plenty of linseed tea. Give mild and warm injections, 
such as water, or herb tea, as these come near the blad- 
der, and serve as fomentations. In England, linseed tea 
is injected into the bladder by means of Reed's catheter. 
In case of mares, this may be done with a more simple 
apparatus. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE NECK OF THE BLADDER. 

In this disease, there is a spasm of the sphincter muscle 
at the neck of the bladder, closing the orifice, so that 
little or no urine can pass. To determine whether there 
is a difficulty in staling, from inflammation of the neck 
of the bladder, or a suppression of urine from diseased 
kidneys, the hand, well oiled, should be introduced into 
the rectum. If there is inflammation of the kidneys, the 
bladder can scarcely be felt under the gut ; but if the 
neck of the bladder is inflamed, the bladder will be full, 
and this will be evident from the protrusion upon the gut. 

Causes. A severe cold, irritability of the bladder gen- 
erally, a stone pressing on or near the neck of the blad- 
der, gravel passing through and injuring the urethra, or 
the cruel and worse than savage custom of injecting into 
mares a tincture or infusion of cantharides, or other pow- 
erful stimulant, to hasten the periodical heat. Some- 
times driving the horse long, without an opportunity to 
stale, causes a spasm in the neck of the bladder, and is 
unattended with inflammation. 

Symptoms. At first there will be frequent discharges 
of urine, then a gradual decrease, both in the quantity 
and the size of the stream, and at length a total cessation. 
The extended bladder can be plainly felt under the hand 
in the rectum, rather tender and painful, but not hot. 



136 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

Remedy. Sweating, to the fullest extent is recom- 
mended ; and then, during the temporary relaxation of 
the spasmodic action, pass the catheter into the blad- 
der, and evacuate its contents. An elastic catheter, 
made for this purpose, is necessary, with which relief 
may be readily given, without any injury. For want 
of this valuable apparatus, an incision is made into the 
urethra, at the curve, and the water let off with a com- 
mon catheter ; but this wound is difficult to heal, and 
sometimes it never heals, and the water is discharged 
there with great inconvenience, as it may unfit the 
animal for labor. An opening is sometimes made in 
this way, when there is an obstruction in the passage 
below this point. 

Back-rake, give mild physic, mashes, and linseed tea 
for drink ; and if means are provided, empty the bladder 
whenever it is full, of which the attendant may judge, or 
ascertain of a certainty, by introducing the hand into the 
rectum. An infusion of belladonna, (two ounces of 
leaves, or two drams of extract, to a pint and a half of 
water,) may be injected into the urethra, and thrown 
into the bladder. 

At the same time, give a scruple of powdered bella- 
donna internally, morning, noon, and night, made into 
a ball with linseed meal (or other meal) and molasses, 
or give in linseed tea or gruel; or one drachm of 
opium may be added. Fomentations, as hot as could be 
borne, and frequently applied, have given relief ; and it 
may be well to try this simple application in the begin- 
ning. Use thick cloths, and apply them all along the 
urethra, particularly at the upper part, and use injec- 
tions in connection. Dr. Holmes, of the Maine Farmer, 
informs us that he was requested to see a valuable horse 
suffering under this disease, and still more by reason of 
numerous diuretic doses given him ; and he was relieved 
by the application of bags of boiled hops, frequently 
changed. 

Another Cause of Strangury. Sometimes a stoppage 
of urine is caused by a pressure of dung on the neck of 
the bladder ; and this immediate cause is produced by 
constipation of the bowels. The hardened faeces pass 



HORSES. 3/ 

off slowly, lodging in the rectum, and pressing on the 
bladder. 

Remedy. Back-rake, and give injections for immedi- 
ate relief, and remove the costiveness by bran mashes, 
roots, and green food. 

DORMANT STATE OF THE KIDNEYS. 

Sometimes the kidneys become dormant or inactive, 
and cease to secrete urine. To ascertain their condition, 
when there is no discharge of urine, but frequent and 
painful efforts for this purpose, examine thoroughly, and 
see whether the symptoms indicate any of the disorders 
we have named ; if they do not, a suppression of urine 
may be supposed to exist from a torpid or sluggish state 
of the kidneys, and diuretics may be given. But give 
only mild doses, lest there be a mistake 5 for it requires 
skill and experience to judge accurately of these disor- 
ders, which have been so much confounded one with 
another. 

GRAVEL AND STONE IN THE BLADDER. 

It is common for a horse to discharge gravel with his 
urine. There is nothing that can be given safely that 
will dissolve these calculi, and all that can be done is to 
give a diuretic dose, and, in an hour after, half a pound 
of common salt in a quart of water, to excite thirst, that 
large quantities of water may be drunk and discharged, 
and the gravel washed out. Stones are more common 
in the kidneys of the horse than in the bladder. In 
either case, the symptoms are very obscure. A horse 
affected with stone in the bladder is subject to colicky 
pains, and. during these pains, he voids his urine with 
difficulty and violent straining. Mind this, in examin- 
ing for gripes or colic. The presence, size, and situation 
of stones in the bladder may be felt from the rectum, as 
named in other diseases of the urinary organs. Lith- 
atomy, or cutting, is sometimes practised for this com- 
plaint ; but this requires a skilful and experienced 
surgeon. 

12* 



138 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



DIABETES, OR PROFUSE STALING. 

This is a very weakening disease. The horse urinates 
very often ; the urine is colorless, and is discharged in 
immense quantities. He would drink forever ; and the 
water is hardly down his throat till it is thrown among 
his feet as urine. He cannot endure hard labor, and his 
coat soon stares : he refuses to eat. loses flesh, and 
becomes extremely weak. As the disorder proceeds, the 
pulse becomes quick and weak. 

Causes. They are various, and sometimes difficult to 
trace. Among them, are mow-burnt hay, bad oats, and 
other bad fodder ; sometimes it is caused by an impov- 
erished state of the blood, arising from the use of strong 
medicines. Ill usage, and the want of green food at the 
proper season, are also causes. 

Remedy. Change the food, and let the horse rest from 
hard labor. Put lumps of coarse salt, and a piece of 
chalk, in his manger ; put pea or bean meal in his water, 
and give carrots and good hay. By a change of diet, 
and good treatment, he will generally recover without 
medicine ; but if the disease continue, give a dose of 
physic. 

If this course does not cure, astringents must be 
resorted to ; the following is good : — Catechu, two 
drachms; opium, half a drachm; linseed meal, two 
drachms ; make into a ball, with molasses, or mix in 
gruel. Give this dose morning and night; and if it 
binds the bowels, add one drachm of aloes, or some 
other laxative, in small portion, to each dose ; or keep 
the bowels open with bran mashes. If it be in season, 
give green food. 

POLL EVIL. 

This disease is a swelling on the poll of the head, just 
back of the ears. If not dispersed, it suppurates, and 
generally becomes a formidable disease. Some regard 
it as incurable ; but severe cases have been cured. 

Causes. They are numerous. The most common 
are, a painful blow inflicted on the poll, striking or rub 



HORSES. 139 

bing th» head against the lower part of the manger or 
other tn.iig, striking the poll in passing into a low stable 
or elsewhere ; jerking back the head, when hitched by 
the bridle or halter. It is sometimes occasioned by a 
general morbid state of the system. It is often caused 
by tossing up the head to avoid the pain and discomfort 
occasioned by the check or bearing reins, which constrain 
the head in an unnatural position. [See page 77.] 

Symptoms. At first, the animal appears restless, 
throwing up his head, and returning it. He soon drops 
his head, holding it first on one side, and then on the 
other. He appears dull about the eyes, and sluggish in 
all his movements. Heat and swelling of the poll follow. 
[f the evil is deep, the swelling is wide ; but when near 
the surface, it presents a point. 

Remedy. When taken early, the disease may some- 
times be dispersed. Abate the inflammation by bleed- 
ing and physic, and frequent application of warm vine- 
gar, saturated with salt. Observe a cooling regimen, 
reducing the quantity of oats, and soon discontinue them 
altogether. Apply an astringent or scattering poultice ; 
but be careful and not pursue this course far, unless it 
is likely to succeed. 

If heat, swelling, and tenderness increase, matter will 
form in the tumor, and the whole course of treatment 
must be changed ; a full habit will be necessary, in 
order to bring it to a suppuration as fast as possible ; 
and the parts should be softened and drawn by a poul- 
tice of oat or Indian meal, applied lukewarm, twice a 
day. The power of the poultice may be increased by 
roasted onions. Mix with it a small quantity of hog's 
lard or sweet oil. It should cover the whole swelling 
two inches thick. 

When the tumor is ripe, if near the top, it may break ; 
but if deep, it must be opened. The opening should be 
a little below the centre, and lengthwise, lest the cervic- 
ular ligament under the mane be cut, which will cause 
the head to droop ever after. In order that the matter 
ma}' run out as fast as formed, and not collect at the 
bottom jf the ulcer, corroding and irritating it, a seton 
should be inserted, penetrating through the bottom, and 



140 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

coming out on the side of the neck, a little below the 
bottom of the abscess. Perhaps, by pressing the parts, in 
order to produce a discharge, keeping it open at the top, 
and by cleansing with frequent washings in strong soap 
suds, the matter can be expelled without a seton. 

If the ulcer deepens and spreads, and threatens to eat 
the ligatures of the neck, cleanse it by a weak lye of 
wood ashes, and apply a poultice of the soft pulp of 
roasted carrots, to which add a small quantity of char- 
coal powder. Should the healing of the wound proceed 
too fast, the granulations should be touched with some 
caustic. The operator should be cautious, as the acri- 
monious matter discharged from the abscess may be 
absorbed at the roots of his finger nails, and infect the 
system with poison. 

Another . Friend Solon Robinson says, in the Frank 
lin Farmer, "Here is a cure for poll evil, in its worst 
state ; when the swelling breaks, put into the opening 
from which the matter discharges, a lump of pearlash 
or potash, as big as you can with your finger. These 
applications will cure the worst cases of poll evil or fis- 
tula I ever saw." 

Another. A correspondent of the Albany Cultivator 
recommends, as soon as the tumor appears, to make a 
strong decoction of the root of the meadow plant or vine, 
known by the name of poison ivy, mercury, or poison 
vine, (Rus radicans ;) bathe the tumor with this decoc- 
tion every day, as hot as the horse can bear it, and heat 
it in with a hot iron. It will soon begin to subside, and, 
after some weeks, disappear. He cured a horse in this 
way, that was so bad that he could not drop his head to 
drink. 

Another. Several severe cases have been cured by 
washing with soap suds, and putting common salt into 
the ulcer, repeating it frequently. 

Another View of the Case. D. P. Mosely, of West 
Liberty, Kentucky, thinks this disease may be caused 
otherwise than by external injuries. He says, "The 
cerumenous glands are internally connected with the 
ear and occiput, (hinder part of the head.) Their office 
is to secrete cerumen, (ear wax,) which lubricates the 



HORSES. 141 

organs of hearing. When these glands become injured 
by colds, fatigue, &c, the secretions become obstructed, 
and produce swellings, and suppuration. He recom- 
mends a stimulant upon the muscles of the ear, as fol- 
lows : — Put three spoonfuls of finely pulverized flint 
glass into a bottle containing a pint of urine ; bury it 
in the ground for three days ; then shake it up, and put 
one spoonful into each ear of the horse, once a day, for 
three, four, or five days. He states the cure of a very 
severe case, from this application, in which the tumor 
had broken, and become very offensive. After pulver- 
izing the glass, it should be scronched through very fine 
cambric or gauze. Perhaps some other stimulant would 
answer. 

PHRENITIS, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE 
BRAIN. 

The term staggers used to be applied to this disease, 
but it is only a symptom of this and other diseases. 
Phrenitis is produced by a determination of the blood to 
the brain. 

Causes. Change from poor to high feeding and rich 
pastures, over-exertion in close, sultry weather, espe 
cially in fat, high-fed horses, lately accustomed to only 
a little labor. It sometimes results from other diseases, 
or a change of inflammation from one organ to another ; 
it may suddenly leave the bowels, lungs, or other parts, 
and attack the brain. But it is usually caused by a 
diminution of the excretions which produce costiveness 
and induration of the contents of the intestine, and a 
strong flow of blood to the head. 

Symptoms. Hanging of the head, dulness, watery 
eyes, reeling of the body, and sleepiness. While eating, 
the animal becomes lethargic, droops his head, with the 
tongue hanging out and saliva dribbling ; and he will 
stagger and almost fall. If aroused, he stares around, 
and then slumbers again. If he falls, he will start up 
as though frightened, wander about, stagger and fall 
again. 

This nay continue some hours, or a day, and then the 



142 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

scene changes ; he is alive, his ears up and eyes glar- 
ing ; he is constantly changing his posture, pawing and 
stamping. He has intervals of calmness for a short 
time. Again he is active ; he whinnies, moans, dashes, 
plunges, bites and kicks, without object or conscious- 
ness. He exhausts himself, and then he is stupid and 
sleepy. And so he generally goes on, till he has rup- 
tured a blood-vessel in the brain, or worn himself out 
by violence. 

Remedy. Bleed profusely. G-ive a gallon of hetb 
drink, made of mallows or other herbs. Give flax-seed 
tea to lubricate the bowels and prepare for physic. 
Back-rake, and give an exciting injection. In the course 
of six or len hours, give a dose of physic. Then give 
mashes and feed sparingly, and keep in a dark stable. 

Another. Make an incision in the forehead, in the 
form of a cross, two inches in extent, down to the bone ; 
dissect up the angles, and introduce a tea-spoonful of 
cantharides ; then close the skin, and confine it by stiches. 
In a few hours an inflammation takes place, a copious 
flow of mucus from the nose ensues, and the symptoms 
of the disease abate. A deep sore is formed, which 
should be cleansed daily by soap suds. In this case the 
cause should be removed by laxative food and gentle 
physic. 

Another. Give physic and keep on light food. After 
an operation on the bowels, give the following fever 
drink : emetic tartar, one drachm ; powdered digitalis, 
half a drachm ; saltpetre, three drachms ; mix, and give 
in a quart of gruel. When this medicine cannot be ob- 
tained, give, as a fever drink, two quarts of strong rasp- 
berry tea, or other soothing astringent tea, adding the 
saltpetre, or some other light diuretic dose, if convenient. 

VERTIGO, MEGRIMS, OR FITS. 

This is an inflammation of the brain in its mildest 
form. The horse appears well, but owing to heat, ful- 
ness of flesh, rather fast driving, or the effects of exer- 
f : on after inaction, he is suddenly seized, stops, shakes 
*(S head, is giddy, looks around half unconscious. After 



HORSES. 143 

a few minutes' rest, he revives and goes on, but not so 
well as before. Sometimes, without any warning, he 
drops, lies a few minutes apparently insensible, then 
starts up and goes on again. Or he drops and struggles 
violently for a few minutes, then calmly rises and pro- 
ceeds, though somewhat oppressed and weakened. Oc- 
casionally he drops and dies at once. 

Prevention. Keep the horse in a good, healthy con- 
dition, and give moderate exercise. Be careful and not 
feed too high. 

Remedy. Give physic and fever drinks, with light 
diuretics, and feed lightly. 

BIG HEAD. 

Young horses are more liable to this disease than older 
ones. It does not seem to be contagious, yet when it is 
in a large stock of horses, many are liable to be affected 
before it can be eradicated. It is slow in its progress, 
both in its effects on those attacked, and in attacking 
others : in this way, it will sometimes remain on a place 
several years. Some say this disease is caused by blind 
teeth, which should be removed. English writers do not 
speak of this disease. It is unknown in the Northern 
States. It prevails in the South, and in some sections 
of the West. It is most prevalent in new countries, and 
usually attacks horses that run at large and live in the 
woods. 

Appear ances after Death. The bones of the head, 
particularly of the jaws, are heaved up and distended. 
The bone at the surface appears solid and of the usual 
consistence, but when broken open, the inner part is 
distended and not compact, exhibiting the appearance 
of dry honey-comb, or pumice-stone. The teeth also are 
affected, and have the same unnatural distention and 
want of solidity as the jaw bones. Some of the bones 
in other parts of the system are affected. 

Symptoms. The first appearance of the disease is an 
enlargement of the front of the head, between the eyes 
and nostrils. This unnatural bulk continues to increase, 
with greater or less rapidity, in different subjects. After 



144 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

the he se has been some time affected, the under jaw 
also begins to exhibit a like growth and distention. 
Sometimes it exceeds the other in increase. At an early 
period, some, and a later period, other subjects, begin to 
languish and lose their activity and strength ; the joints 
grow stiff and unshapely ; the back becomes weak and 
unelastic, until he dies, or is killed to terminate his suf- 
ferings. 

Remedy. Numerous modes of treatment have been 
tried for this disorder, without success. The following 
has been attended with favorable results, when the dis- 
order has been taken in season. Take a piece of bar 
iron, and have it formed into the shape of a chisel, about 
two inches wide. Let it be about as sharp as chisels or 
axes usually are before ground. Heat this in the fire 
until it is quite red. Search out a gristle or ligament 
which extends from near the eye to near the nostril. It 
is almost as large as a person's little finger. Apply the 
edge of the heated iron across this ligament, about mid- 
way between the eye and nostril, and sever it by burn- 
ing entirely into the bone, on both sides. 

Let the wound alone. The severed ligature should be 
prevented from reuniting again too readily, and the 
irritating and suppurating state of the wound may be 
advantageous ; and having kept open the sore for some 
time, it will heal of itself. 

If the disease has not advanced far, the head will 
gradually and slowly shrink to its former dimensions. 
If it has advanced further, the horse may be servicable, 
though the head may not regain its natural shape. It is 
said to be attended wUh no danger. 

Another Remedy. One quart of hog's lard j one 
quart of tar ; one pound of sulphur, or brimstone ; put 
all together in a pot over a slow fire, and boil until the 
brimstone disappears- Then make a mop on a strong 
stick, and rub the horse's head, from the eyes to the 
nose, once a day, with this mixture, till it is all gone 



HORSES. 145 



RABIES, OR MADNESS. 

This dreadful disease is produced by the bite of a mad 
nog, or by such dog licking the muzzle of a horse whose 
lips are galled by the bit. 

Symptoms. The horse stops, looks round, staggers 
and falls. He will soon rise, proceed again, and again 
stagger and fall. After a while, he becomes violent and 
furious ; stamping, biting, tearing, and endeavoring to 
demolish everything around him 5 acting with apparent 
consciousness and intent on mischief. 

Unlike other domestic animals, even the dog, in which 
this disease originates, the horse, like the human being, 
generally has a dread of water, or hydrophobia ; as the 
head is suddenly snatched from a pail of water, amidst 
drinking, and he trembles and sometimes falls to the 
ground, convulsed, at the sound of falling water. 

There is no cure, but it may be prevented by cutting 
out the wound immediately after the bite, before the 
poison has entered the circulation, or by the applicatior 
of lunar caustic, so as to destroy every part that is in 
jured. It must reach to the very bottom of the wound 
It is dangerous to do anything with a horse when this 
malady controls him. [See page 277.] 

THE HORSE DISEASE. 

This term was given to an unusual and very fatal 
malady that prevailed among horses around the city of 
New York, particularly on Long Island, in the summer 
and early fall of 1846. It mostly affected those tha 
were pastured. It seemed to be a congestive fever on 
the brain. The internal organs were free from inflam- 
mation. 

Cause. It was supposed to be caused by miasma in 
the air, arising from the decomposition of vegetable and 
animal matter, which, taken into the lungs, vitiated the 
blood, or prevented the usual purifying effects of vita 
air. 

Symptoms. These varied. In some cases, it corn 
13 



146 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

menced by the horse refusing food, and hanging lown 
his head. He soon became stupid, and leaned against 
any object for support. In a few hours he fell, and in a 
day or two expired. In other cases, it commenced by 
weakness across the loins, and stiffness of the limbs, 
which gradually increased till the animal fell, generally 
to rise no more. In the latter case, the brain did not 
appear to be affected. 

Remedy. Many medicines were tried, and mostly in 
vain. General bleeding usually hastened death ; in 
some few cases, when it was attended to at a very early 
stage, it seemed to have a favorable effect. Moderate 
bleeding in the head was considered useful ; after this 
operation, cold water was applied to the head, with appa- 
rent benefit. In some cases, it was thought that cam- 
phor, in others, calomel, had a good effect. But, in most 
cases, it proved fatal, in spite of medicines and treat- 
ment. About five hundred died. 

LAMPAS. 

A swelling of the bars of the mouth. Young horses 
are most subject to it. It will generally subside without 
medical treatment. A few mashes, with light physic, 
will generally relieve the animal. A few cuts across 
the bars, with a penknife, in the middle part, to avoid 
the principal artery and vein of the palate, will relieve 
the inflammation. Burning is unnecessarily cruel, and 
renders the part Callous. Sometimes the lampas is 
caused by the tushes coming through the gums. In that 
case, lance the gums above the teeth. 

BLACK TONGUE. 

In the winter of 1834, an epidemic, under this name, 
prevailed extensively in Maine, among cattle and horses. 
The tongue swelled, turned dark, cracked, and the skin 
peeled off, and it was so sore that it was difficult for the 
animal to eat. Cooling laxatives, and washing the 
tongue in a decoction of white pine bark, had a good 
effect. The remedy used for cattle would doubtless be 
beneficial. [See this subject under the head, " Cattle."] 



HORSES. 147 



THE EARS. 

The ears of horses are covered with a short down on 
the inside, mixed with large hairs, to prevent cold air, 
snow, sleet, rain, dust, and flies, from hurting the inter- 
nal ear. Therefore, trimming this part is very inju- 
rious. 

In hot weather, there is a species of flies that eat the 
inside ol the ear till it is raw ; they are exceedingly tor- 
menting. To prevent this, apply some oil, lard, or other 
grease, to the inner part of the ear, once in a few weeks, 
m the warm season. Begin before the flies, else it will 
be difficult to touch the ears, from their tenderness. 

FOUNDER. 

This disease is caused by riding the horse until much 
heated and fatigued, and then allowing him to cool sud- 
denly, by drinking freely of cold water, or standing in 
an exposed situation, or in a cold stable without cover- 
ing ; or, without sudden cooling, it may be produced by 
too bountiful feeding, and his swallowing his food gree- 
dily, while very warm and hungry. 

Under such unfavorable circumstances, the poor ani- 
mal, after resting, instead of being refreshed, is stiff and 
sore ; his rest, food, and drink, being more destructive 
to health than constant action and abstinence. On the 
contrary, had he been allowed to cool gradually, and fed 
sparingly, he would have escaped injury. 

Remedy. Take from the neck vein a gallon of blood, 
and give as a drink, in a quart of strong sassafras tea, a 
table spoonful of saltpetre, and a quarter of an ounce of 
assafoetida ; withholding any drink for six hours ; at the 
end of which, should he not be better, take half the 
quantity of blood, repeat the drink, offering him bran or 
oats scalded with sassafras tea, his drink being mixed 
with tea. His feet should be well cleaned, and filled 
with cow dung. 

Another. As soon as your horse is foundered, bleed 
lim in the neck in proportion to the severity of the case 



14& DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

In extreme cases, bleed him as long as he can stand. 
Then draw his head up, and with a spoon, lay salt back 
on his tongue, till he has swallowed one pint. Let him 
drink only moderately. Anoint his feet with spirits of 
turpentine, and he will soon be well. The founder per- 
vades every part of the system. Bleeding arrests it in 
the blood, and the salt in the stomach and bowels. At- 
tend to it immediately after the injury. 

Another. Curry the horse with a sharp curry-comb, 
very briskly, against the hair, from his hoofs over the 
whole body, and with sufficient severity to draw blood 
slightly, in places ; then jump on him, and run him some 
distance, and he will be relieved. 

Another. If your horse founders over night, take 
him the next morning, and, by turns, set each hoof in a 
pint of boiling hot hog's lard, first cleaning the hoof; 
and better still, if the shoe be taken off. Have it boil- 
ing hot for each foot, and with a spoon, put it over the 
hoof as near as possible to the hair. He will be fit for 
use in three or four hours ; so says a Kentuckian who 
had practised this mode of cure for fifty years without a 
single failure. 

Another. Immediately on discovering the founder, 
give the horse about a pint of sun-flower seeds in his 
feeA. This may aid in the cure ; but it may not be 
sufficient alone. 

H. Cole, in the Prairie Farmer, recommends, as a 
simple and certain cure, to bleed the horse freely in the 
neck, as soon as the founder is discovered, and as soon 
as practicable, place him in water about up to his belly ; 
the colder the better, and let him stand two thirds of a 
day ; or, if badly foundered, longer. This drives the 
founder from his feet and legs, and prevents its settling 
there. 

EATING TOO MUCH GRAIN. 

Some animals eat grain to excess when they get 
access to it, and it would often kill them, unless relieved. 
The grain absorbs the juices of the stomach, and with 
the heat becomes so swelled as to be in danger of burst- 
ing it. Or, if this does not take place, the stomach may 



HORSES. 149 

*ose its action from over-fulness, and fever and other 
diseases ensue. Besides the distention from swelled 
grain, there may be gases from fermentation. 

The general opinion among farmers has been, thai 
after a creature has eaten too much grain, he must not 
drink, lest the water cause swelling of the grain. Some 
say he would better drink ; and our opinion has been, 
that he would better drink moderately of salt water, or 
of an alkaline solution, as this will absorb the gas, and 
prevent swelling and fermentation, and at the same 
time supply moisture to the dry stomach. 

On this contested point, we have obtained the opinion 
of Dr. Holmes, of the Maine Farmer, who makes the 
following judicious remarks : — " The injury arises from 
two causes, the swelling of the mass by absorption of 
the juices and Jluids in the stomach, and gases arising 
from fermentation. The animal should drink moder- 
ately, for the grain, warmed and moistened by the stom- 
ach, will swell, and by absorbing all the juices in the 
stomach, is apt to bring on a fever. A small portion of 
water will relieve the dryness in the stomach, and put 
the mass of grain in a condition to move out of the 
system." 

Remedies. Give drink moderately, and let it include 
a good dose of lime or chloride of lime, or a lye of wood 
ashes. If the case be severe, back-rake, and give injec- 
tions — exciting ones, if obstinate constipation require it. 
Soon after giving the alkaline solution, give a pint of 
any kind of oil, or melted lard. A little gentle exercise 
may be useful. Ardent spirit of any kind is good, or 
any warm stimulant in a small compass, as Cayenne 
pepper or hot drops, as it checks fermentation, and 
warms and excites the stomach to action. For some time 
after, feed lightly, and treat kindly, for the stomach will 
be weak and tender. 

HIDE -BOUND. 

This often results from poor keeping and bad usage ; 
sometimes from surfeit. The animal grows poor, his 
skin becomes dry and rigid, and seems to adhere to his 



150 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

bones, and sometimes small boils break out on his back. 
It is generally only a symptom of disease, particularly 
of the digestive organs. 

Treatment. Feed liberally, and give bran mashes, 
roots, or green food, to keep the bowels open ; work 
moderately, oil the skin, and curry often, but not harshly, 
as the bones are too prominent for such an operation. 
This, with good usage, will generally cure, when the 
complaint is owing to poverty and harshness. 

But if it does not yield to the above treatment, the 
digestive organs are probably disordered, and medicine 
may be necessary. Give alternative medicines : — two 
drachms of levigated antimony, the first night ; three 
drachms of saltpetre the second night ; and four drachms 
of sulphur the third night, in bran mashes. 

The bran will keep the bowels loose ; the antimony 
and sulphur are fine for the skin ; the sulphur for the 
bowels, and the saltpetre for the urine. If the horse can 
be spared from labor, gentle physic will be beneficial. 
Rub him well, and use warm clothing, if the weather be 
cool. 

LICE. 

See this subject under the head " Henri." The smaller 
kind of lice that infest hens often get on horses, when 
the hen-roost is near them. They mul iply rapidly, and 
notwithstanding their small size, they become a formi- 
dable enemy, tormenting the poor aiAimal almost to 
death. He rubs and scratches, tearing off the hair and 
skin, but all in vain ; they continue to tease and bite. 
They are difficult to destroy, and some xwerful means 
that are recommended would sooner kiL the horse than 
the lice, as they are more hardy, and \t 11 long endure 
what would kill the horse instantly. 

Mr. Albert Todd, of Smithfield, R. I had a horse 
sadly afflicted with lice, from having the ren-roost near 
him. As he knew not what ailed him, th/ y became an 
awful scourge before he discovered the cau .e of the evil. 
After he learned the cause, he tried tobacco, soap suds, 
and oil, but in vain : he then soaked him all over in 



HORSES. 151 

new rum, and this destroyed them. In such cases, the 
litter should be removed beyond the reach of any ani- 
mals, and the stall and furniture whitewashed, with a 
liberal portion of salt in the wash; and the harness 
should be carried off, and brushed, washed or oiled. 
For these lice will live long without food, and then re- 
vive and increase. AVe have kept them alive nearly a 
week in a phial, without food. 

MOULTING, OR SHEDDING THE HAIR. 

This is not a disease, but a condition that requires 
attention in the management of the horse. It takes 
place in the spring and fall, — more thoroughly or sud- 
denly in the spring, and then the animal is more affected 
by it. It produces indisposition to a moderate extent; 
sometimes a slight fever, as the vital power, which, in 
health, is equally distributed through the whole system, 
is, in this condition, determined to the skin, and employed 
in the reproduction of hair. Consequently, there is lan- 
gor, and less capacity for labor. 

At these seasons, give cooling and loosening food ; 
manage carefully, clothe well, and let the labor be less 
than usual. More than common attention to currying 
and rubbing is necessary while the moulting process is 
going on, as it will remove the old hair and promote the 
growth of the new. 

ABORTION. 

Abortion frequently happens to mares. It often arises 
from over-exertion during the latter period of pregnancy. 
They are also liable to various accidents in the pasture, 
which cause them to slip their foals ; such as kicks, 
tumbling into holes and ditches, leaping over fences, 
&c. Stinting the mare in the quantity of her food, or 
food of a bad quality, is a cause of abortion. On the 
contrary, if she be fed high and not worked at all, there 
is equal danger of miscarriage, by high condition and 
idleness, causing inflammation and other disorders. 
Therefore avoid extremes, and when the beast is near 



152 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

her time, put her in a suitable pasture by herself. This 
subject is treated of more fully under the head " Cattle." 

WOUNDS AND BRUISES. 

One who has much experience confidently recom- 
mends the following treatment : Dissolve saltpetre in 
warm water, in such proportions as to be moderately 
strong to the taste, and add blue stone, blue vitriol, 
(sulphate of copper,) until the solution is slightly tinged. 
Use this, and nothing else, for a week, two or three 
times a day. 

It purines the wound, destroys proud flesh, produces 
granulations, and heals the worst wounds in a short 
time. It is good for a kick, and is not liable to leave a 
scar. It will generally do well without any covering. 
It protects from flies, and as the skin will approximate 
as the wound heals, under this treatment, there is not so 
much need of sewing up wounds. 

Another Mode. Wash the wound, morning and 
night, in warm soap suds, and anoint immediately 
with whale oil. This purifies and heals the wound as 
fast as desirable for soundness, protects it from cold 
and flies, and the hair is replaced of the natural color. 

Another for Flesh Wounds. Steep Life of Man 
root in chamber lye, boil it down one half, and wash the 
wound with it several times a day. It is said to be very 
effectual. [See Wounds, page 56.] 

CRAMP, OR DRAWING OF THE NERVES. 

Cause. Taking cold after hard labor and sweating. 
The excretions being suddenly diminished brings on 
spasmodic and convulsive symptoms. Every nerve 
seems contracted to overthrow its antagonist and dis- 
member the ungovernable body. The eyes are con- 
torted, and generally nothing but the white appears. 

Remedy. Sweat the horse, by taking a large pot filled 
with mayweed and tansy, and when boiled, place it 
under his belly, and cover him with a large rug or cov- 
erlet, to keep the steam confined to his body. A little 



HORSES. 153 

before the steaming, give him sixteen grains of opium 
in half a pint of wine. Keep him covered for a few 
days, and give him warm water, and be careful that the 
cold be not repeated. 

If opium be not at hand, give some warm drink, such 
as ginger and water, peppermint or pennyroyal tea, 
adding two tea-spoonfuls of pulverized Cayenne pepper. 
This will greatly promote the perspiration, and warm 
the whole system. Hot drops are also very good as a 
warming medicine. [See page 49.] 

CASTRATION. 

If horses are constantly worked, so as to be no trouble, 
they are better for being entire, as they will be stronger 
and endure more hardship. On this account, many that 
are kept almost constantly in harness are not altered, 
and ihey are perfectly kind and docile. But as most 
horses are sometimes idle and run out with others, it is 
a general custom to castrate them. 

This operation, as with calves, lambs and pigs, could 
be done with the least trouble, injury or risk, when the 
colt is only a few months old. But as the form of the 
neck and shoulders are materially improved by his re- 
maining perfect, he is not generally castrated till after he 
is a year old. 

If the fore quarters are then large and full, the sooner 
it is done the better ; but if they are thin and weak, he 
should remain six months longer. Many do not castrate 
the colt till he is two years old. The operation should 
be performed in mild weather, and the patient should be 
prepared by a dose of physic. 

Many new modes of emasculation have been recom- 
mended, — such as turning the testicles, cording, apply- 
ing the clams, <Scc, — but the old mode of cutting is 
generally preferred ; and if it be properly done, under 
favorable circumstances, it generally, or almost univer- 
sally, succeeds. 

After carefully casting the colt, the operator should 
examine the scrotum, and see if the testicles have come 
down thoroughly, so that he can grasp them rmly 



154 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

They may not have come down well. If there is any 
prospect of a difficulty in retaining them in the grasp, 
he should pull them down as low as he can without 
violence, and place a pair of clams above them. 

He grasps the testicle, pushes it to the bottom of the 
bag, and then makes the bag tight over it ; then with 
one incision, from before backwards, he cuts along the 
whole extent of the lower edge of the testicle ; he cuts 
through the scrotum, the dartos muscle, and the tunica 
vaginalis, and the testicle slips out. Some make the 
incision with a red-hot firing iron, but this is unneces- 
sarily painful, and the wound will not heal so soon. 
Ttypre may be some cases in which it heals too soon, 
while matter is in the scrotum ; but these cases are rare. 

The operator must now seize the testicle, hold it 
steadily, not draw it violently, humoring the struggles 
of the animal, and when he is still, draw it out a little 
further, and place the clams upon the cord, having first 
wound a little tow around them. The vas deferens, 
which is continued from the lower part of the testicle, 
should be divided, which will save the colt much un 
necessary pain. 

He then settles in his mind where he will divide the 
cord, so as not to leave it so long as to protrude out of 
the scrotum, nor so short as to be difficult to seize in 
case of bleeding. The clams are then closed, and fast- 
ened sufficiently tight to stop the blood, but not so hard 
as to bruise the cord. The cord is now divided. 

Some cut the cord with a knife, and sear the end to 
prevent bleeding, but the difficulty is that bleeding will 
sometimes occur after this precaution. The better way 
is, to draw a firing iron, with a sharp edge, rapidly and 
repeatedly, yet lightly, across the cord, and not wholly 
in the same line, until it is divided. The vessels will 
then be more securely closed, and bleeding will seldom 
follow. The clams should be a little loosened to see if 
bleeding is stopped. If only a little blood oozes out, 
apply the firing iron again. This is a nice point, as the 
application should be just sufficient to accomplish the 
intended purp( se ; for many of the colts that are lost die 
of inflammation from needless severity in the applica 
tion of the hot iron. 



HORSES. 155 

Proceed in the same manner with the other testicle, 
and the operation will be completed. Cleanse the part 
with cold water, as nothing is better. No balsam or 
salve need be applied, nor is it generally necessary 
during the healing of the wound. At first he should be 
kept up in a pen. as stirring a little will cause the pus 
and other fluids to run out, and prevent swelling and 
inflammation. He may be walked out daily for a quar- 
ter of an hour. To turn him out, exposed to the flies 
and cool nights, is cruel and dangerous. 

But little attention will be necessary afterwards. 
There will often be considerable swelling, and some- 
times extending beyond the scrotum along the belly. 
But if there be a healthy discharge of pus on the third 
day, there will be no danger, and the swelling will grad- 
ually subside. Whether there is swelling or not, if there 
be no discharge of pus, the wound should be opened a 
little with the iingers, that any pus pent up in the bag 
may escape. If there be great swelling, " foment the 
parts long and often. A strong decoction of raspberry 
leaves, or other astringent, will be good for this purpose. 
In case fever attend, give gentle physic, and light food, 
such as bran mashes, &c. 

SALIVATION, OR SLOBBERS. 

Causes. The food is doubtless the cause, whether it 
be green or dry, as is shown by experiments in chang- 
ing food. Some have attributed salivation to the second 
crop of clover, but from very nice experiments that have 
been made, it is evident that clover has no such effect, 
unless the seed be a cause. There are several grasses, 
weeds, and other plants, that will cause salivation. Lo- 
belia will cause it when eaten by horses ; but in the pas- 
ture, they generally, if not universally, avoid it ; but 
when mixed with hay, horses will eat lobelia, and it will 
produce slobbers, as experiments have plainly shown. 
Some say that clover seed will cause salivation ; hence 
this disease from eating ripe clover. 

The principal cause of salivation is doubtless spurge 
{Euphorbia maculata,) which is generally found in a sec 



156 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

3nd crop of clover ; and a later variety (hypericifolia.) 
It comes forward, flowers, and ripens at the same time 
as the second crop, and it is gathered with clover 
seed. In this way, it may be diffused all over the coun- 
try, and it is found in most parts of the United States. 

All the plants of the genus Euphorbia contain a very 
acrid juice. [Some of them stand at the head of vegeta- 
ble poisons.] It has the greatest effect in the green 
state, and is most effective when in flower, which is in 
July and August. 

Symptoms. They are very apparent. A profuse dis- 
charge of saliva from the mouth, to the great annoyance 
of man and beast. It doubtless weakens the animal 
very much. 

Remedies. Change the pasture, or the fodder. Take 
a horse that is salivated, from grass, and feed him on 
pure hay, and the salivation will be stopped in one night. 

Feed with cabbage leaves ; and if they be not at hand, 
use turnip tops, radishes, mustard, or other crumiferous 
plants. Mix, occasionally, a table spoonful of sulphur 
with the salt that is given to the horse, and give salt 
freely. 

FISTULA. 

This disease may generally be attributed to careless- 
ness. If the saddle has not been properly champered, 
or the padding has shifted so that the saddle presses on 
the edge of the withers, swellings and sores will be pro- 
duced, which, in bad cases, may run to ulcers of the 
same kind as those of poll evil. If the sinuses penetrate 
between the shoulder and the ribs, it is even more seri- 
ous than poll evil, and the seton must pass through the 
very deepest of them. In many respects, this disorder 
is similar to poll evil, and the treatment should be sim- 
ilar. 

Another Remedy. If it has broken, or has been 
lanced, and runs, make a wash of elder, (Sambucus can- 
adensis,) wild cherry and sassafras root, equal parts, 
boiled After washing, apply salseratus to the sore. 



HORSES. 157 



SWEENEY. 

Sweeney is the name given to a certain disease in 
which there is a wasting of the flesh in the bone, called 
the scapula [shoulder-blade] of the horse. It is generally 
occasioned by a sprain of one of the joints of the leg, 
causing an interruption of the circulation of the fluids 
which nourish the muscles [flesh] of that part of the 
shoulder — hence the wasting of the flesh occurs. Farm- 
ers call the disease sweeney, but it is not found under 
that name in the books. 

The remedy is simple. In the centre of the waste..! 
part, take hold of the skin, and pull or lift it up with the 
thumb and Anger, and with a sharp knife, cut off the 
piece thus lifted up, so as to remove entirely a piece of 
the skin about an inch in diameter ; then dress the spot 
with a suppurating salve, to make it run matter for two 
weeks ; then let it heal. The cure depends upon the 
inflammation occasioned by the wound and the salve ; 
this occasions an increased flow of nourishment to the 
wasted part. 

We would suggest whether the insertion of a rowel 
would not answer the purpose more effectually, and with 
.ess trouble, than removing a piece of the skin, and 
applying suppurating salve. 

Another Remedy. " Take half a pint of grease., 
tried from old rusty bacon ; half an ounce gum cam- 
phor, shaved fine ; four or five red peppers ; simmer all 
together till thoroughly mixed. Apply this every other 
morning to the affected shoulder, rubbing it briskly with 
a smooth stone until it becomes quite hot. Pulling up 
the skin two or three times a day, where the flesh is 
wasted will expedite the cure/' 

GALLED BACK. 

Remedy. White lead moistened with milk is an ex 
cellent remedy. Keating, in his expedition to the source 
of St. Peter's River, found this the most successful appli- 
14 



158 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

cation. When milk zannot be had, sweet oil may be 
substituted. 

Another. Gather a quantity of smart weed, (arse- 
smart,) which generally grows in moist land around 
stables ; bruise it well, and put it into an iron vessel, in 
the corner of the stable ; cover it with chamber lye, and 
wash the galled places whenever the horse enters or 
leaves the stable, or oftener, if necessary. A cure will 
be effected. If badly galled, bruise some of the leaves, 
and lay on. To prevent galling, wash daily the parts 
most exposed to injury. 

Another. If the skin is worn off the back, and the 
sores are swelled, bathe it with hot urine, or with warm 
salt and water j this will disperse the swelling. If you 
wish to dry up the sore, powder chalk, or old shoes burnt, 
and cover the back with it. If the back is full of hard 
lumps or saddle boils, bleed him freely in the mouth, 
which will serve him as a dose of physic ; then wash 
his back often in hot rum and vinegar. 

THE SHEATH AND PENIS. 

Sometimes the sheath of the horse becomes foul from 
dust and perspiration, which causes irritation and inflam- 
mation. Wash it thoroughly, internally, with soap suds, 
and remove all the foul matter. When well cleansed 
and dry, anoint it with some soothing ointment or lini- 
ment. Lard, or oil of any kind, will answer. If there 
be not much inflammation, the washing alone may be 
sufficient. If there be much inflammation, after wasL- 
ing, foment it, externally and internally, with some 
astringent. Sometimes, at the close of a severe illness, 
the sheath becomes suddenly inflamed. Give gentle 
physic and mild diuretics, and foment the inflamed 
parts with astringent liquor. 

If the sheath be not occasionally examined and 
cleansed, filth may collect and remain there long, caus- 
ing excoriations and ulcers, eating deeply into the parts, 
and producing a mass of disease on the glans of the 
penis, so that amputation becomes necessary. Some- 
times masses of fungus, weighing several pounds, will 



HORSES. 1 59 

cover the glans. They cannot be successfully removed 
with the knife or cautery, as they will sprout again. 
Amputation of the penis is the only remedy ; which is 
neither difficult nor dangerous. 

Turn back the sheath, and draw out the penis as far 
as possible, and then cut it off as far below the diseased 
part as may be deemed necessary. The remaining 
portion will be retracted within the sheath. Little 
bleeding will generally follow ; excepting a slight flow 
of blood for a few days, in the passing of urine. The 
orifice of the urethra is kept open by the urine, and no 
unpleasant circumstances usually follow from this oper- 
ation. 

SPRING HALT. 

Spring halt, or string halt, is a kind of lameness pecu 
liar to the hind quarters of a horse, which causes a sud- 
den jerking of the legs upwards in his going. When it 
seizes the outside muscles, the horse straddles and throws 
his legs outward. When the inside muscles are affected, 
his legs are twitched up to his belly. It is in one or in 
both legs. The cure is difficult. Rubbing and fermen- 
tations are recommended, with moderate exercise daily. 

STIFLE. 

Cause. It is caused by the dislocation or slip of a 
small bone, about as big and as long as a man's finger, 
at the stifle joint, above the inside bend of the hough or 
gambrel, which is much the same as the knee-pan in 
man. 

Symptoms. Lead the horse over bars or other imped- 
iments, one and a half or two feet high, and he will drag 
a stifled leg over, being unable to raise it up, and step 
over. 

Remedy. If the stifle is not slipped out of place, but 
only strained, it may be cured by bathing it in a lini- 
ment made of three parts of brandy and one of the oil 
of spike, heated in by a chafing dish of coals. This will 
contract and strengthen the ligament, and if the lame 



160 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

ness is recent, it will be likely to cure. But if the stifle 
is out of place, fasten a strong rope or chain round the 
foot-lock of the lame leg, and let a strong man hold it ; 
then move the horse directly forward, while the rope is 
held fast by the man behind, pulling the rope, so as to occa- 
sion the leg to be extended back as far as it can be drawn. 
Let this be done three or four times before the rope is 
taken off. Be careful and pull the leg directly back 
behind, for if turned on one side, the leg may be injured. 
It is said that this treatment never fails j but if the stifle 
has been of long standing, the operation should be re- 
peated in a few days. This restores the bone, and the 
application of astringent medicines, like the liniment 
just named, will have a tendency to keep it in its place. 

Another. If the stifle is dislocated, make a stifle 
shoe, three inches high, using a common shoe for the 
base ; put this on the well foot, that the horse may stand 
four or five days on the lame one ; that will keep thf 
joint in its place, and in the mean time bathe the join 
with the liniment above mentioned. The stifle shoe is 
preferable to strapping the well leg, as it hinders circu 
lation, takes off the hair, and often lames it. 

Another. " A handful of sumach bark, and a hand- 
ful of white oak bark, boiled in a gallon of water, down 
to two quarts ; bathe the stifle with this solution twice a 
day four days ; then put on a salve made of the white 
of an egg and rosin, and bathe the same in, with a hot 
shovel, two or three times, and the horse is cured." 

Another. Take one gallon of urine, and put therein 
a small handful of junk tobacco; boil down to one- 
quart ; then add two ounces of the oil of spike, one 
ounce of the oil of amber, two spoonfuls of spirits of 
turpentine, and two spoonfuls of honey. Put it into a 
jug, and cork it tight for use. 

Process of Application. Rub the stifle bone hard with 
the mixture, fifteen or twenty minutes ; then dry it in 
thoroughly with a red-hot fire shovel ; then ride the 
horse forth and back one hundred rods. Repeat the 
above two or three times, and the cure will be effected. 



HORSES. 161 



SPLENT. 

Splents, strictly speaking, are bony substances inter- 
posed between the larger and smaller bones of the leg. 
But horsemen generally call any bony tumor along the 
side of the leg, a splent. They are caused by early and 
over work, and external violence, and are most common 
to young horses. The growth of the splent is attended 
with heat, tenderness and pain, and some lameness. 
When they have become grown, and the other parts 
around them have become accommodated to them, they 
do no material injury, though unsightly, unless they 
interfere with the action of any joint. This disease is 
most common to the fore legs. 

JRemedy. If they produce lameness, or are in situa- 
tions where they are likely to, cut off the hair around 
them ; put on a smart blistering plaster, to be kept on 
three days ; chafe the part strongly with a tincture of 
flies, and once a day rub in opodeldoc, with one quarter 
spirits of turpentine, unless this substance is in the 
opodeldoc. 

Another. Rub on well, for four days, a little mercu- 
rial ointment > or, better still, a compound of iodine and 
mercurial ointment. Then wash cleanly, and apply a 
blister. 

Blister. Mix four drachms of cantharides with sweet 
oil, to the consistence of molasses, and rub it on with 
the hand, five or ten minutes. 

SPAVINS. 

Bone Spavin is similar to splent, excepting it is con- 
fined to the joints, and common to the hind legs. Some 
call all bony excrescences spavins when on the joints, and 
splents when on other parts of the legs. The bone 
spavin, definitely considered, is a bony enlargement at 
the upper end of the shank bone, inside the hock joint, 
or a little below it. It belongs to the hind leg only. 

At the seat of this disorder, the leg is composed of 
three bones, fitting into one common cavity at the hock 
14# 



3 , )i2 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

yet possess separate motions to give elasticity to the 
animal's tread, and assist him in progression. By 
mounting the colt while too young to bear much weight, 
and pushing him too hard at work, these bones are 
strained asunder, inflammation ensues, and a spavin is 
thrown out. 

Remedy. Blister the part affected, first shaving off 
the hair. 

Another. Two table spoonfuls of melted lard; one 
table spoonful cantharides, made fine ; a lump of corro- 
sive sublimate, as big as a pea, made fine ; all melted 
together, and applied to the callous, once a day till used 
up. This quantity for one leg. It will make a sore and 
weaken the joint while applied, but be not alarmed. 

Another. Take six ounces of oil origanum, two 
ounces of camphor, two ounces mercurial ointment ; 
mix them well together, and rub the place affected two 
or three times a day, keeping the horse dry. This is 
said to be a good remedy from actual experiment. It is 
also good for ring-bone. 

Bog Spavin owes its origin to hard work in early life. 
It commonly comes in the ham, and is caused by the 
joint-oil of the hough issuing into the membrane that 
surrounds it, and, stagnating under the vein, causes it to 
swell. Prick the swelling, but take special care and not 
injure the nervous cord, as this may bring on the locked 
jaw. Upon opening the swelling, you will find a gela- 
tinous humor to issue from it. Now apply a turnip 
poultice for a few days, to draw out the humors, and 
then strengthen the part by bathing it in good brandy. 

Blood Spavin is caused by a vein being ruptured, 
the blood extravasates, and forms a protuberance. 

The following remedies are good for bog spavin, or 
blood spavin : 

Take a strong mixture of copperas and vinegar, with 
which rub the parts affected, keeping the horse dry, and 
stirring him only enough for exercise. 

Take about a pailful of urine, into which throw a 
quantity (the more the better) of old rusty iron ; put the 
vessel near a fire, and let it stand three or four days, 
stirring it occasionally, when it will be fit for use 



HORSES. 163 

Apply this mixture twice a day ; and in all cases it will 
soon effect a radical cure, or prove highly beneficial. 

SWELLED LEGS, OR WEED. 

This complaint is frequent and troublesome. The 
causes are various and difficult to determine. Young 
horses are most subject to this disease, especially if high 
fed on being taken from grass. It is more common and 
more severe in the hind- legs. It frequently conies on 
very suddenly. Sometimes it is only the shifting of an 
inflammation from the lungs, intestines, or other parts. 
Sometimes a general fever attends it, the pulse quickens, 
the mouth is hot, and the horse ceases to eat. 

Remedy. Foment the legs with warm water, give a 
good dose of physic, and follow it by a diuretic medi 
cine. In very severe cases, bleed freely. The legs 
should be well rubbed and slightly bandaged, and 
gentle exercise used. The legs of horses that are over 
worked frequently swell, without much pain, on stand- 
ing a day or two in the stable. The legs of some horses 
swell every night. This is owing to debility, either 
general, or of the part. It may be owing to over work 
or high keeping. 

Remedy. Give mild physic and diuretics ; use regular 
exercise, and rubbing, and bandages around the legs. 
Decrease the quantity of food a little, and give mashes, 
and green food, if in the season. Attend to the general 
management of the horse, to promote his health. 

RING-BONE. 

This is an ossification or bony excrescence on the front 
of the smaller pastern bone, just above the hoof, and be- 
low the fetlock joint: generally it is not very injurious, 
but sometimes the same affection on the leaver part of 
the larger pastern, at the joint, causes much lamer. 

Causes. Colts that are kept on stable floors that are 
cleaned daily, and not littered, are subject to this disease. 
Low keeping, by weakening the joints, has a tendency 



164 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



to produce it. In young horses, it is often caused ty 
strains, in being driven too hard; and by running in 
pastures, and leaping fences. 

Symptoms. Lameness is sometimes the first intima- 
tion that we have of ring-bone, which may be ascer- 
tained by passing the hand down over the part affected. 

A Remedy is difficult, out something naj be done 
by way of preservation and relief, and if the ossifica- 
tion is not at the joint, it will not be a serious injury. 
As soon as the evil is discovered, foment the part fre- 
quently and apply the following linament. One quart 
of vinegar, two ounces of salt, and one quart of hot 
drops. 

Another. One pint tincture of lobelia, one pint 
tincture of Cayenne pepper, and four drachms oil of ori- 
ganum. Beat up the last in a small quantity of alco- 
hol. 

Another. Clean and dry the part affected. Then 
rub on it, well into the hair, some good common house 
soap, and dry it in with a hot iron, but not so hot as to 
burn. Try this three mornings, and if a cure be not 
effected, repeat it. It is perfectly safe. 

SCRATCHES, OR SELENDERS. 

A disorder between the hinder pastern joints and 
hoofs, consisting of cracks, soreness, with suppuration. 
It is most troublesome in spring, while the roads are 
muddy, which obstructs the perspiration of the parts, 
together with snow-water, which is very unfavorable. 

Remedy. As a preventive or cure, cut off the hair 
close, and wash the legs in strong soap-suds or urine. 
Washing in warm vinegar, saturated with salt, will be 
an additional advantage. In severe cases, apply for a 
few days a turnip poultice, with a small quantity of 
hog's lard. *In inveterate cases, a run at grass may be 
the only remedy. 

Another. Wash the legs in warm, strong soap-suds, 
and then in beef brine. 

Another. With warm soap-suds wash the part 
affected, and with a cob or other rough substance rub 



: 



HORSES. 165 

off all scabs ; then apply oil or hog's lard just so as to 
moisten the skin ; then take a fine powder of hemlock 
bark, and cover the parts well with it ; a few applica- 
tions will effect a cure. 

DISEASES OF THE FEET. 

Brittleness of Hoof is a disease arising from keep- 
ing the hoof too dry; though it is a natural defect in 
some horses. It prevails most in hot, dry weather, and 
is a serious inconvenience. The hoofs chip away at 
every shoeing, until at last there is scarcely nail-hold, 
and there is danger of pricking the horse. For this 
complaint, stopping is commonly used. The best stop- 
ping is cow dung, with a small portion of clay to give it 
consistency and tenacity. Apply it to the soles of the 
feet when not at work. But the following liniment is 
preferred. Oil or spirits of tar, one pint ; common fish 
oil, one quart ; mix them together. When the horse 
comes from work, cleanse the feet, and rub this liniment 
over the whole crust and sole. Brittleness in the hoof 
would be prevented, in some measure, by the horse stand- 
ing on the ground instead of a plank floor. 

Sand Crack is a longitudinal crack in the hoof, the 
predisposing cause of which is brittleness of hoof. It is 
most common on the inner quarter of the fore foot, that 
part being rather weak, and liable to much stress and 
pressure. But in the hind foot it is the most frequent at 
the toe, for there is the principal stress in drawing. 

The slightest appearance of sand crack should be 
attended to. It begins from without, and penetrates 
inwardly, and may be arrested in its progress, when 
superficial. Rasp the hoof; if done in season, the crack 
may be rasped out. If it proves to be deep, and yet no 
lameness, the foot should not be weaken 3d by cutting to 
the bottom of the fissure, but a line sh ould be deeply 
drawn, with a sharp firing iron, above and below it, to 
prevent its spreading. 

If lameness attend sand crack, the fissure has pene- 
trated hrough the horn to the sensible parts, and either 
gravel has insinuated itself, and is giving pain by its 



166 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

pressure, or a portion of the sensible part beneath haw 
protruded itself into the crack. 

The crack must be searched to the bottom, the fides 
must be pared off a little, and then, with a very small 
drawing knife, the fissure must be opened and examined. 
When the dirt or gravel is removed, a piece of tow, 
dipped in balsam, should be put into the crack, the foot 
immersed in a linseed poultice for a few days, and a 
stimulating liniment rubbed on the coronet, to encourage 
the growth of horn. 

Split Hoof is sometimes occasioned by corking when 
the travelling is bad, and the inconvenience of a horse 
lying idle several months is very great. A case is re- 
ported of two horses that had split hoofs from corking, 
which were kept constantly in the team, without any 
signs of lameness. The blacksmith bored the hoof in 
two places on each side the split, and then passed nails 
through the holes, and clenched them tightly. 

On this point, Sylvester Staftor, of Thetford, remarks 
as follows, in the Boston Cultivator : — " 1 had a horse 
that had a split hoof, caused by being corked the winter 
previous ; it had become a cloven hoof on the outer part, 
and the horse was very lame. I met one of my neigh- 
bors on the road, and he observed that my horse w r as 
lame ; he took his jack-knife and cut through the soft 
hough, a little above the crack, a cross slit, extending 
three fourths of an inch each way. I kept it soft with 
stimulating ointments, and as soon as a new hoof could 
grow, it was as good as any other. Rattlesnake's oil is 
one of the best ointments." 

To Make the Hoofs Tough. Wash them frequently 
in brine, and turn up the feet, and turn brine upon 
the bottoms, and soak them a few minutes. This 
will make the feet tough, and prevent brittleness in 
the hoof. A correspondent of the Western Farmer and 
Gardener, tried this, on the recommendation of an old 
Kentuckian teamster, and it relieved his horse from 
stiffness in the joints, and his hard, brittle hoofs became 
soft and tough, and he drove him fourteen hundred miles 
without further trouble. 

Some regard water as the best application to keep the 



HORSES. 167 

hoof soft and in good condition. It will penetrate the 
hoof belter than oil, and other oleaginous preparations 
for this purpose. In warm weather, moisten the feet 
often in water. 

Hoof-Bound. The hoofs are dry and hard, and con- 
tracted at the top so as to pinch the quick, and prevent a 
free circulation. 

Remedy. Keep the hoof cool and moist, as a preven- 
tive ; and for a cure, open the hoof a little at the edge of 
the hair, that it may spread. Then grease it daily with 
■any soft grease, such as that of woodchucks, skunks, 
dogs, or geese. 

Wash for the Hoofs. The following wash is excel- 
lent for softening and toughening the hoofs : — Spirits 
of turpentine, four ounces ; tar, four ounces ; whale- 
oil, eight ounces ; mix, and brush over the hoofs often. 



This is a disease of the frog of the foot. At first 
there is a discharge from the cleft of this protuberance. 
It is caused by frequent, long continued, and extensive 
application of moisture. A plethoric state of the body is 
a predisposing cause ; but too much water is the princi- 
pal cause. 

It is sometimes produced by standing constantly in 
moist dung. Stopping, or frequent w T etting the feet in 
water, as a remedy for brittle hoofs, when carried to the 
extreme, will produce thrush. 

If thrush be neglected, it spreads, affecting the whole 
foot. The horn becomes ragged and irregular ; the frog 
shrinks, and the foot contracts. The horse is disposed 
to go on his toes to favor his heels. Rut generally, he 
shows no lameness until the disease is much advanced, 
except when the frog comes on a stone, or is pressed in 
rough or deep ground. 

Preventive. To prevent thrush in feet predisposed to 
it, keep the frog dry ; and if the sole needs moisture, 
stopping may be applied, first covering the frog in pitch. 

Remedy. Clean thoroughly the cleft of the frog, and 
all the moist crevices, and fill them with pledgets of tow 
dipped in warm tar, every day, and keep the foot dry. 



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169 



NEAT CATTLE. 

The lettered engraving on the left, with the explana- 
tion, shows the terms usually used in designating the 
principal external points and parts of cattle. The figure 
represents the short-horned Durham breed, remarkable 
for depth in the breast and large fore quarters. It is 
also distinguished for large size and early maturity. It 
differs materially from the following description, in re- 
gard to the size of the fore and hind quarters. 

MARKS OF A GOOD MILCH COW. 

John Brooks, Esq., of Princeton, who pays particular 
attention to raising cows, selecting such calves as have 
the best marks for this purpose, has favored us with the 
following description of a good, native, milch Cow : 

" Head and face rather long ; muzzle small ; eyes 
prominent, bright, and mild ; forehead, between the horns, 
narrow ; wide between the eyes ; horns rather long, small, 
oval shaped, and wax colored ; smaller near the head 
than three or four inches from it ; neck slim and flat, 
not approaching to round ; on leaving the shoulders, 
the neck should fall a little below the line of the back ; 
straight on the back j wide in the loin ; the outlines of 
the loin should be nearly parallel ; thigh should be thin ; 
hind legs straight and small, standing wide apart ; in 
walking, the cow should carry her hind legs straight 
forward, not sling them out, describing the segment of 
a circle ; fore leg, above the knee, should be rather large ; 
below the knee, small, approaching to round ; foot rather 
large than small, but round, and of a dark wax color ; 
oreast wide, brisket projecting well forward ; milk veins 
large ; deep in the flank ; large hind quarters, and small 
fore quarters ; bag, when empty, small and skinny, not 
fleshy, running well forward on to the belly; teats 
middling size, neither large nor small, but rather long 
and elastic ; color of teats reddish brown, never white ; 
hair upon the bag soft, short and silky, growing or 
15 



170 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

pointing on the hind part upward, except if '-he be a 
very good cow, she may have an oval spot of hair grow- 
ing downward, a little above each hind teat ; if not quite 
so good, one spot above the left hind teat ; if a little 
poorer still, one spot above the right hind teat ; hair 
thick, short and glossy ; color red, dun, or brindle, with 
a light, golden colored ring around the eyes and muzzle." 

MARKS OF A GOOD WORKING OX. 

Mr. Asa G. Sheldon, of Wilmington, who has grea* 
experience in cattle, particularly in working oxen, an(* 
is regarded as the best authority, gives the following : 

" Long head, broad and oval between the eyes ; the 
eye full, keen and pleasant. Such marks denote ability 
to receive instruction and a readiness to obey. The 
short-faced ox starts quick at the whip, and soon forgets 
it. The black-eyed ox is inclined to run away. An ox 
with very large horns near the head is apt to be lazy, 
and he cannot endure heat well. 

" Forward legs straight; toes straight forward ; hoof 
broad, not piked ; the distance short between the ankle 
and knee. These properties enable an ox to travel on 
pavements and hard ground. If the ox toes out, the 
strain comes on the inside claw, and when travelling on 
a hard road, he will be lame at the joint between the 
hoof and the hair. When the toes turn out, the knees 
bend in. An ox with crooked knees is apt to become 
lame by holding heavy loads down hill. 

" Breast full 5 straight on the back ; round ribs, pro- 
jecting out as wide as the hip bones. These are indica- 
tions of strength and a good constitution." 

TO ASCERTAIN THE AGE OF CATTLE. 

By theie. Teeth. The calf is usually born with two 
fore or cutting teeth, and at a month old the whole eight 
are cut. The age is then guessed at by the wearing 
down of these teeth, until the calf is eight months ol<I, 
when they begin to become narrower and smaller. At 
eight months the two centre teeth are smaller than the 



NEAT CATTLE. 171 

rest ; and from that time until eighteen months, the 
others gradually diminish, until the whole are consid- 
erably lessened, and stand apart from each other. 

At two years old, the two middle teeth are pushed out, 
and succeeded by two permanent ones ; at three, there 
are four permanent teeth ; six at four years ; and all 
the eight at five, when the animal is said to be full- 
mouthed 5 but he is not actually so until six years old, 
when all the eight are level. 

A good judge of cattle will generally determine the 
age with considerable accuracy for many years after 
that. From six to nine, he will be guided by the wear- 
ing down of the teeth ; and after that, by the diminution 
in their bulk, as in the milk teeth. At nine, the two 
middle fore teeth are evidently smaller and narrower 
than the rest ; at ten, the two next are so ; and so on 
until twelve, when, as in the steer of two years old, the 
teeth again begin to stand singularly apart from each 
other. 

By their Horns. The surface of the horn continues 
nearly smooth until the expiration of the second year, 
when a wrinkle or circle of thicker horn begins to be 
formed around the base. This is fully completed in a 
twelvemonth, and another ring then begins to appear, 
so that if the perfect rings or circles are counted, and 
two added to them, the age of the beast is ascertained. 

These rings, however, are not always clear and dis- 
tinct, and it is very easy to remove one or two of them 
with a rasp, at least to the unpractised eye, when the 
animal begins to be too old for the market. In addition 
to this, a well-known fact should be stated, that if a 
heifer has a calf when about two years old, the first 
ring is formed about a twelvemonth before the usual 
time, and, consequently, she would always appear to be, 
reckoning by her horns, a year older than she really is 



172 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



TRAINING. 

We have already treated on this subject, under " Ani« 
mals" and " Horses." The remarks on taming and train- 
ing horses, in their leading principles, are applicable to 
cattle, showing the importance of subduing by gentleness 
rather than by harshness and force ; they also show the 
great importance of exercising common sense in this busi- 
ness. 

We have found, from experience and observation, that 
by far the best time to train steers is when they are 
calves, the first winter. A person can then manage 
them with ease, and put them under good discipline, 
and they will never forget it. When a boy, we trained 
calves the first winter, so that they were completely 
handy, and would take as large a load for their size as a 
pair of oxen. Let this be done by a person of discretion, 
and not allow boys who were never trained themselves 
to do this by way of a frolic. 

In the neighborhood where we resided, a pair of calves 
was raised on a small farm, where some seven or eight 
tons of hay were cut, and a few acres of land tilled, and 
no oxen kept. The first winter, these calves were 
worked by boys of moderation and good judgment. 
They hauled all the wood for the family, which was no 
small amount, as it was for an old-fashioned fireplace. 
They also carried grain to mill, about four miles. The 
next spring, they were furnished with cart and wheels 
suited to their size, and hauled out the manure, hauled 
in the hay and other crops, hauled fencing, &c, and 
from that time did most of the work on the farm ; they 
proved to be a superior pair of oxen, and at seven years 
of age, they were sold at a high price, considerably 
above the value of any other pair of oxen in the vicinity. 

We should no more think of allowing cattle and 
horses to go three or four years without training, than 
allowing children to run wild, wayward, and ignorant, 
until fifteen or sixteen years old, before being trained 
or educated. Illustration, — An old gentleman threat- 
ened his son, a big boy, for disobedience. " Could you 



NEAT CATTLE. 173 

once bend that tree, yonder ? " said the son to the father. 
. with the greats in you bend it now ? * 

I cannot move it." "Neither can you move this 
chap ! " retorted the son. 

On this subject. Mr. Sheldon remarks, that the best 
pair of oxen he ever knew were trained before they 
were six months old. and that cattle that are trained 
early are worth twenty-five per cent, more for hard 
labor than those that are grown before they are broken. 
In learning cattle to back, he strikes them on the nose 
with the hands, instead of a stick. 

eers or oxen are sullen, and lie down, and refuse 

to move, do not strike them, but place the palms of your 

. ..: upon their nostrils, and stop their breath. 

In this way. we have started them up more suddenly 

than it can be done by whip or goad. 

If steers run away, do not thrash them, as this will 
induce them to run the faster next time ; but feed them 
with a few nubs of corn, or something else that is good, 
and treat them kindly. 

once noticed that a teamster, who was offended 

x. m unyoking him, took out the bow as 

as possible, and then with the bow gave him a 

sudden and violent blow. For a long time after, that ox 

rt suddenly, as soon as the bow was out of the 

yoke, knocking away the yoke, frightening the other 

. I sometimes nearly knocking over the teamster. 

> the effect of "bad management in producing 

bad ha 

The charge of stupidity and tardiness that is often 
made against cattle is unfounded, or must result from 
lining and good usage, so as to call out their 
natural v.. ind powers. The Hot- 

tento. :i in the saddle, and train them to war. 

and they make terrible havoc among the enemy. They 
cniard flocks and herds, which 
lIIv perform, caressing friends, and attacking 
enemies with great rage If trained to the purpose, proj)- 
r I. and never over- worked nor heavily loaded, cat- 
tle \vi ul 1 travel fast, instead of their usual slow motion, 
generally travel on a trot, and frequently 
5* 



174 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

go four or five miles an hour. In India, they often per- 
form journeys of sixty successive days, at thirty to forty 
miles a day. A Sussex ox ran four miles, at the rate of 
fifteen miles an hour. A calf will run as fast as a colt. 
We have often found their speed sufficient, when we 
have attempted to catch them. 

FOOD. 

We have treated more particularly of food under the 
head " Horses," and the remarks there as to quality of 
food, its condition and preparation, and effects, will 
generally apply to other animals,* but the horse, from 
more violent exertion, and greater exposure to the ex- 
tremes of heat and cold, is more affected by food of an 
unfavorable nature. 

GREEN HERBAGE. 

The grasses are the principal food of cattle during the 
warm season. It is superior for milch cows, growing 
animals, and for fatting or idle animals ; and it answers 
very well for working cattle, when at moderate labor. 
Cows feeding on grass alone, and having a good supply 
of the best quality, produce the largest quantity and the 
best quality of milk, especially in June, when grasses 
are in their prime. There is a variety of grasses in our 
pastures ; the clovers are superior. They nourish well 
in new lands, but decline in old pastures that are neg- 
lected. 

Rye is used for early feed, before grass starts, both 
for soiling and for pasturage. Orchard grass starts 
rather early in spring. When pastures fail in the latter 
part of summer, green corn fodder is given to cattle to 
supply the deficiency. It is raised to considerable extent 
ior milch cows. With but little labor, great crops are 
raised, which make excellent feed. We have credible 
accounts of thirty or forty tons of green food to the acre. 
Southern corn is generally used, from its luxuriant 
growth • but Chinese Tree corn is best, and next to this 
Qie sweet corn. 



NEAT CATTLE. 175 



DRY HERBAGE. 

Hay is the principal dry herbage for cattle. Herds 
grass, with a small portion of clover and red-top, is the 
best for oxen at hard labor. It is good for cows ; but 
clover, timely cut, and well saved, is a superior fodder 
for milch cows, young cattle, and sheep. We have 
found, by experiments, that herds grass, cut about a 
week after it is in blossom, when the seed is about full, 
is preferred by cattle, in a long run ; gives the greatest 
weight, affords the most nutriment, and is better for 
working oxen than when cut at any other time. Some 
cut it in blossom, for cows. 

i w of various kinds is good food for a spare diet, 
and with grain, meal, or roots, it is good for store cattle. 
Straw and hay are better for all kinds of stock for being 
cut. [See page 97.] 

Com fodder is excellent for cattle ; and when there is 
a prospect of a light crop of hay, it is in season to raise 
this crop. An acre of good land will yield six tons of 
dry fodder. If it be large, it should be cut, to prevent 
waste. 

GRAIN, MEAL, &C 

Indian corn and meal is the principal grain fed to 
working oxen. It is far better for all kinds of stock for 
beins; ground, as it is more readily digested, and affords 
more nutriment. It is used in stall feeding. It is too 
rich for milch cows, excepting in a small way. It is best 
to grind the corn and cob together ; as there will be more 
bulk. Corn alone, is too rich. Cobs contain some 
nutriment, as appears from their producing alcohol. 
Those who will not allow the chemist's test, must meet 
the irrefutable argument of the case of the old lady, 
who. in a scarcity of hay, kept her cow in fine condition 
most y on boiled cobs. 

Oil meal and flaxseed, in quite small quantities, are 
excellent for cattle, and all animals of hard tallow j but 
for animals of soft fat, as swine and poultry, they are 
not good. 



176 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



Roots are valuable for cattle, as they answer admira- 
bly the place of succulent food, for want of which ani- 
mals often suffer in winter, being confined to dry fodder, 
which produces costiveness and various diseases. Roots 
have a slight laxative effect, and keep the bowels in fine 
condition, and guard against diseases of almost every 
description, during our long and trying winters. They 
keep young cattle in a thrifty condition ; produce in 
cows nearly as much and as good milk as on grass ; a 
few are excellent for working oxen, and fine beef may 
be made on roots alone. We have fatted young cattle 
on ruta-bagas as fast as hogs fatten on the best of food. 
Roots may be raised, in dry seasons, to supply a defi- 
ciency in hay. 

MANAGING AND FEEDING WORKING OXEN. 

We quote again from Mr. Sheldon, who excels as a 
teamster. The following is from the Yankee Farmer : — 
" Oxen, working on a stone-drag, on the foot of a plough, 
on the sled-tongue, cart-spire, or twitching stones or tim- 
ber, should carry their heads well up, as this will enable 
them to do this work much easier. Those that work as 
leaders forward of other oxen should carry their heads 
low. 

"Feed regularly; have the yoke the right length. 
Let the bows suit the neck. The yoke and bows to the 
leaders should set a little snugger than to the nib oxen. 
Never use the whip but from necessity. When about to 
strike the young steer or ox, ask yourself, ' Will he know 
what I strike him for ? ' Let each ox have a name, and 
be sure that he knows his name. Never speak a word 
to an ox without meaning. Have a particular word to 
start your team by, that all may haul together. Never 
hurry your oxen while you are riding behind them, lest 
they learn to haul apart. 

" Oxen should be shod with a broad shoe. To travel 
on a hard road, the shoe on the fore feet should be set 
back, at the heel, nearly half an inch further than the 






NEAT CATTLE. 177 

hoof bears upon it. Oxen are frequently lame by reason 
of short shoes. 

" The best feed for oxen at hard work is to give to 
each ox two quarts of meal wet, mixed with good 
chopped hay, three times a day, and as much hay as he 
will eat. This is the highest feed working oxen ought 
to have, and on this, they will work ten hours a day. 
[Eight hours is enough, long followed.] A portion of 
rye with Indian meal is better than all Indian. Farmers 
who do not work their oxen hard, need not give them so 
much meal." 

FEEDING AND MANAGING MILCH COWS. 

The grasses, particularly the clovers, are the best sum 
mer feed. When these begin to fail, the deficiency may 
be supplied by green corn, which is very sweet, and pro- 
duces a large quantity of milk, of excellent quality. 
The tops of beets, carrots, parsnips, and cabbage and 
turnip leaves, are good. Pumpkins, apples, and roots, 
may be fed as the feed fails. Give only a few at first, 
especially apples, and gradually increase. 

Roots are of great importance when cows are kept 
on dry fodder. Potatoes, carrots, beets, turnips, pars- 
nips, artichokes, and vegetable oysters, are good. The 
ast three and cabbage turnip keep good, in the ground, 
through the winter, and are fresh and fine in the spring, 
before the grass starts. 

Potatoes produce a great flow of milk, but it is not 
very rich. A little Indian meal is good with them, to 
keep up the tlesh and give richness to the milk ; and 
this is the case with beets and most kinds of turnips, as 
they tend largely to milk. A little oil meal or flaxseed 
is excellent, in addition to the Indian meal, to keep up a 
fine, healthy condition, and impart a rich quality to the 
milk, and gives a lively gloss to the hair of cattle, and 
softness and pliancy to the skin. 

In all cases of high feeding in winter, particularly 
when cows have but few roots, shorts or bran are excel- 
lent to promote digestion and keep the bowels open. 
Three pints each of oil meal and Indian meal, or two 



178 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

quarts of one and one quart of the other, is as high feed 
in these articles, as cows should ever have. On shorts, 
bran and roots, they may be fed liberally. Four quarts 
of Indian meal, in a long run, will dry up and spoil the 
best of cows, so that they will never recover. 

Carrots are among the very best roots for milch cows, 
producing a good but not very great mess of rich milk, 
and keeping the cow in good health. Parsnips are nearly 
the same. Ruta-bagas are rather rich, and keep up the 
condition. To prevent any unpleasant taste in the milk 
from feeding turnips, use salt freely on them, and milk 
night and morning before feeding with turnips. Cab- 
bage turnip, (or turnip-rooted-cabbage-below-ground,} 
has no such effect. It resembles ruta-baga, is raised in 
the same way, and yields as much or more. 

Some keep cows in the barn, by night, in the warm 
season. They are saved from storms, and more manure 
is saved. There should be good ventilation in hot 
weather. Cows are much better for being kept in the 
barn nearly all the time in cold weather. To drink 
freely of cold water, and then stand out half chilled to 
death, is highly injurious. But they should go out a 
little while daily, in favorable weather, and be driven 
around gently, for exercise. Inaction is death to all the 
animal race. [See page 20.] 

Cows and other cattle are generally badly managed. 
They are not watered, in short days, until ten o'clock in 
the morning, and their last chance for drinking is about 
four in the evening. Thus they go sixteen hours with 
out drink, and during that time they take nearly all 
their food, which is as dry as a husk. They suffer to 
a great degree from thirst, and then drink to excess. 
As a remedy, give cattle a part of their breakfast only, 
and then water them, and water again after finishing 
their morning meal ; and if kept up, water at noon, 
and again at night. If it be too much trouble to take 
good care of stock, then keep less, and they will be as 
productive and more profitable, if well managed. We 
have fed sheep that had constant access to water within 
eight or nine rods, and after eating thirty or forty 
minutes in the morning, the)'" would all go and drink. 



NEAT laTTLL. 179 

Milcn cows are injured by being driven far to pasture, 
especially in hot weather, and still more if hurried by 
thoughtless boys. 

SOILING. 

In soiling cattle, they are kept up or in a yard most 
of the time, and they are fed on green herbage, which is 
cut and carried to them, such as rye for early feeding, 
and grass in its season, and when that fails, corn stalks, 
&c. Tins system is best adapted to sections where land 
is high and pasturage scarce. The advantages are, dis- 
pensing with interior fences, making more manure, 
keeping more stock on the same land, getting a larger 
mess of milk, and having animals always at hand. The 
disadvantages are, the trouble of cutting and carrying 
the feed, inferiority in milk when the feed is rank and 
luxuriant, and from want of exercise and pure air, unless 
particular attention be given to this subject, and greater 
liability of cattle to disease from the causes just named. 

Some, in soiling, keep their cattle in the barn most of 
the time ; others allow them to run out in the yard most 
of the day, and in other cases they have a range for a 
few hours, or half a day, in a barren lot, or one of short 
feed. Mr. George E. Adams, of Medford, who keeps 
forty or fifty cows, and is a very skilful manager, and 
feeds highly, soils a part of his cows, and, in addition to 
green food, gives them a little salt hay, chopped, and 
gives to twenty cows, daily, fifty pounds of Indian meal, 
oil meal, and shorts, in equal quantities in bulk. Soiled 
cattle in the yard or in a lot, should be protected from 
the hot sun by sheds or trees. 

GENERAL MANAGEMENT. 

Keep cattle at all times in a comfortable condition, 
free from undue exposure to cold, wet, heat, or other 
evils. Supply them with a suitable quantity of food, 
and of a quality suited to their condition and occupa- 
tion. So various are the circumstances under which 
cattle for different purposes are placed, that there should 



180 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

be a great difference, not only in the quality, bat also m 
the quantity of food. Some are idle, while others are at 
hard labor. Some give a bounteous supply of milk, or 
produce young, while others are unproductive m every 
respect. 

Give cattle a good supply of salt ; but let them judge 
of this, and not put much on their food, and compel them 
to eat too much for the sake of food. This is the case 
when hay is salted liberally. Four or five quarts to a 
ton is enough. If the cattle need more, let them have it 
by itself. Give them a plenty of pure water, and let 
them be so situated when sheltered that they can have 
a good supply of pure air ; they need much, as their 
lungs are capacious. Close air will injure the quality 
of the milk, as well as injure health. 

In cold weather, keep cattle well sheltered, and in 
houses that are usually well ventilated, but which may 
be made warm in cold weather ; and in mild weather, 
open them for a supply of fresh air ; but do not let a 
strong breeze blow directly upon them. Do not allow 
cattle to lie out nights in the spring until the weather 
and ground are warm, nor in the fall after the nights 
become cool ; and in the warm season, cows, and oxen 
at the time of laboring, should be sheltered during 
stormy nights. 

REARING CALVES. 

The least troublesome way of rearing calves is to let 
them take a natural course, and suck until old enough 
to wean, which, if economy be regarded as to milk, is 
when they are about two months old. If a cow gives 3 
good mess, a calf will do well on half the milk by having 
clover hay or grass, when a few weeks old, and his size 
requires more food. But some who have a favorite 
breed, and wish to make a large calf in a short time, 
allow him to suck all summer, and sometimes two cows, 
when large enough to require so much food ; and this 
may be economy, when the animal, in consequence of 
liberal feeding, can be sold at a high price. 

When milk is in great demand, or is much wanted id 



NEAT CATTLE. 181 

.he family, or for dairy purposes, calves may be fed on 
scalded skimmed milk, thickened with meal, given 
warm, three times a day. It is better for the calf and 
cow for him to suck one or two days ; then learn him to 
drink new milk, by holding the hand in the vessel of 
milk, and turning up the ringers in his mouth. Change 
gradually to porridge. He will soon leavn. 

We have raised calves in this way that were worth 
as much as others raised on pure milk, and all ran 
•ogether. Pure milk generally gives the best growth 
while sucking, tut those that are fed may be weaned 
more gradually, and are less affected by the change. 
We had only one cow that calved early, and we bought 
another calf, and two pigs, and fed all four on the 
skimmed milk, and had milk to use in the family, and 
made butter enough for a small family and some to sell ; 
all from one cow. They all did well, very well. 

We have been told that hasty pudding (mush) and 
milk are better than porridge. In artificial feeding, 
keep the vessel very clean, and scald it out often, and 
let it dry, and have the milk a little more than blood 
warm when first given, as it will cool a little before 
eaten. If calves scour badly, give a mess or two of 
new milk ; if it continue, attend to the remedies recom- 
mended for that complaint ; but this will seldom occur, 
if the following directions be attended to, which are 
necessary under any course of feeding : Keep calves in 
a clean pen, throwing in earth to absorb all impurities, 
and frequently remove and renew it. Keep by them a 
box of pure yellow earth, and some wood ashes, and a 
lump of chalk to lick ; then they will seldom have the 
scours. 

When two or three weeks old, give them a little sweet 
clover hay, if they do not have access to grass • and when 
three or four weeks old, commence giving them gradu- 
ally a few roots, cut fine ; carrots are best. In artificial 
feeding, flax-seed has been used to great advantage in 
making fine calves, and with great economy. 

The Quality of Milk for Calves. Cows that give a 
arge quantity of milk are better for nursing calves than 
those that give a small quantity of rich milk. There- 
16 



182 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

fore, it is best for calves to suck their share first, when 
they do not have the whole from the cow, as the last 
drawn is the richest. Milk which contains a large 
quantity of cream is apt to clog the stomachs of calves, 
and this obstruction puts an end to their thrift, and often 
proves fatal. Numerous experiments and observations 
of farmers confirm these remarks. 

Calves with Sheep. We have kept calves with sheep, 
and highly approve of the plan. They are free from 
lice ; are more healthy and active. The sheep eat the 
fine part of the fodder, and calves do well on the coarse, 
as they have strong powers of digestion. The dung and 
urine of the sheep, dropped on the fodder, have a favor- 
able effect ; they even possess medicinal virtues. We 
have had calves that came to the barn late, and were 
poor and lousy, and they would not move out of the 
path ; on putting them with sheep, which had nothing 
but water, hay, salt, and ashes — the calves the same — 
they gained in two or three months so that we could 
hardly catch them. The lice disappeared at once. 
When the weather was fair, they ate out door on the 
snow, with the sheep, and at night retired to the shelter. 
Young lambs like this plan, as they often lay on the 
calves. 

THE HAIR AND SKIN. 

The hair serves as a protection and ornament ; it is 
supported by roots in the skin. The appearance of the 
hair and feeling of the skin should be carefully noted, as 
they indicate health or sickness. A soft, supple skin, 
and bright, glossy coat, show good health, and a dispo- 
sition to thrive j but a hard, dry skin, adhering to the 
ribs, and a dull, rough, staring coat, indicate something 
wrong, and that fattening is out of the question till 
health is restored. Let the eyelashes, the hairs in the 
ears and on the tail, remain j they were made for good 
purposes. 



NEAT CATTLE. 183 



PERSPIRATION. 

While in good health, a fluid is constantly passing 
from the surface of the body. No small portion of the 
food and drink taken by the animal passes ofl in this 
way. Excepting from exercise or hot weather, this is 
invisible, and is called insensible perspiration ; but 
from great exertion and heat, it increases, and rises in 
visible vapor, and runs in drops. It is necessary to 
health that considerable perspiration should thus escape. 
When, from colds or other causes, the pores of the skin 
are closed, and perspiration is checked, this produces 
inflammation of the lungs, catarrh, rheumatism, or 
other disorders ; and it is by turns the cause and conse- 
quence of disease. As a remedy, guard against expo- 
sure ; keep the skin clean and well rubbed, and promote 
health in every respect. 

CURRYING AND FRICTION. 

On the utility of these operations, see page 90 ; also 
the last two articles. In this respect, cattle, excepting 
oxen, are generally neglected ; but cows and young cat- 
tle, as well as oxen, would be far more comfortable and 
healthy, and of course more productive to the owner, for 
daily rubbing and currying, especially when confined to 
the barn. These operations serve the same purpose to 
> animals as washing and bathing to the human sys- 
tem. In both cases, they are indispensable to health 
and comfort. 

THE PULSE. 

The natural pulse of the full-grown ox is fifty to fifty 
five beats in a minute. But it is some quicker in milcn 
cows, particularly towards the period of parturition. A 
pulse much quicker than that here stated denotes fever 
or inflammation, while one much slower denotes slug- 
gishness or debility. Yet circumstances are to be con 
sidered, as the pulse is quick and bounding at the begin 



!S4 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

ning of a fever, and weak when the fever is assuming a 
putrid form. 

ORGANS OF DIGESTION. 

Cattle and sheep ruminate or chew the cud, and they 
have four stomachs. After the food is chewed, it passes 
down the gullet to the first stomach, paunch, or rumen, 
which is the largest, and lies on the left side. The food, 
after remaining awhile in the paunch, and becoming 
macerated, is forced up into the mouth again, in small 
mpsses or cuds, and ruminated. After this operation, it 
is swallowed again, and passes into the second stomach 
or reticulum. The gullet ends where these two stom 
achs meet, and the animal has power, in a great meas- 
ure, to direct the food into either. This peculiar con- 
struction of the stomachs gives an important hint on the 
administration of medicine. [See next article.] 

The second stomach consists of a great number of 
cells on tne inside, resembling honey-comb. In this the 
food is further prepared, and then it passes to the third 
stomach, manifold or maniplus. 

From the third stomach the food passes into the 
fourth, called the red. A ruminating animal will be 
satisfied with one third less food than another of equal 
bulk that does not chew the cud. The reason is obvi- 
ous; as ruminating animals have many and strong 
digestive powers, and a greater amount of nutriment is 
taken up from the food. 

Calves and lambs do not chew the cud while on milk, 
which descends directly to the fourth stomach. It is this 
stomach of the calf, with the milk curdled in it, that is 
used for making rennet. The most favorable time to 
kill the calf for this purpose is about two hours after 
sucking. After the food leaves the stomach, it meets with 
the bile secreted by the liver and deposited in the gall 
bladder, which further prepares it, and the pancreas or 
sweetbread, and spleen, contribute also to digestion. As 
the food passes along the intestines, the nutritious part 
is absorbed by vessels, and is taken up in the circulation, 
and carried to all parts of the body, and the in nutritious 
part is reduced into excrements, and expelled. 



NEAT CATTLE. 185 



GIVING MEDICINE TO RUMINANTS. 

All medicines given to ruminants, or cud-chewing 
animals, of a nauseous nature, should be given in a fluid 
form, and poured slowly and gently down the throat, 
holding the head of the animal no higher than is neces- 
sary to prevent the liquid from running out of the mouth, 
and leaving the tongue free, that the animal may have 
command of his swallow. If medicines are given in 
solid form, they will go into the paunch, and if nauseous, 
they will give a distaste to the contents of the stomach, 
and prevent rumination, which is attended with danger. 
Therefore, nauseous medicines should not be given in 
solid form. If liquid doses are given to arouse the first 
stomach to action, or to abate fermentation, or absorb 
gases in that organ, or as a remedy for poisons, turn 
them down suddenly, and then they will be more likely 
to enter the rumen. But the surest way is to put them 
down through a tube or a stomach-pump. When the 
paunch is not affected with hove, or poison, or by the 
animal's eating too much grain, it is best to give liquid 
medicines, and slowly, that they may pass on into the 
other stomachs and intestines, and produce a more 
speedy action. 

FREE MARTINS. 

When a cow has twins, one a bull calf, and the other 
apparently a heifer calf, called a free martin, the heifer, 
by some singular law of nature, limited to cattle only, 
seldom breeds. It was long positively asserted, that 
free martins never breed, but we have heard of six excep- 
tions. Several distinguished surgeons have examined 
into this singular phenomena, and it evidently appears 
to result from a deficiency in, or malformation of, the 
organs of generation. 

BOTS IN CATTLE. 

A neighbor gave the author an account of a cow that 
was slaughtered in the fall, and she had so many bots in 
16* 



186 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

her that the tripe was thrown away. That cow, in the 
first of the fall, ran with a horse, and she was frequently 
licking him, by which she got the eggs into her stomach 
that produced the bots. Another case of the same kind 
occurred with a steer that associated with a horse. 

WARBLES, OR GRUBS IN THE BACK. 

In July and August, the CEstrus bovis, or gadfly, de- 
posits its eggs in the hide, along the back of cattle. In 
the course of a few months, the grub is developed, and 
remains in the abscess it has formed in the skin till the 
spring months, when it escapes from its residence, bur- 
rows in the earth, changes to a perfect insect, and ther 
emerges, to pursue the course of its parent. The heac 
of the larvae is always towards the bottom of the cyst 
and the respiratory organs are near the tail, and of 
course near the opening in the skin. 

Some suppose that warbles do not interfere with the 
condition of the animal, and the butcher regards them 
as a proof of a disposition to thrive. But the effect on 
the hide is another affair. In tanning, the holes may 
seem to close. Some nice observers think that they 
cause great annoyance, fever, and emaciation. 

When the grub is sufficiently grown to have its place 
known, a little corrosive liquor poured into the hole will 
destroy it. Perhaps some liniment, or other substance 
that will not injure the animal, may be used to destroy 
the grub. Sometimes it may be pressed out. It is said 
that strong brine will destroy them in any stage. When 
this fly attacks a herd of cattle, they will stick up their 
tails, and run as though possessed. 

LICE. 

Remedy. Mix lime and ashes together, and sprinkle 
the floor, particularly under their fore feet, as it will not 
be removed in cleaning the floor. 

Another. Grease, fat, lard, or oil, rubbed on cattle, 
will destroy lice ; but this should not be done in very 
cold weather, unless they are protected, as it makes 
them very cold and chilly. 



NEAT CATTLE. 187 

Another. "Wash them in a decoction of cedar bark a 
few times. 

Another. Buttermilk. 

Another. Throw line sand on them. Bulls paw in 
sand, and are never troubled with lice. 

Another. When calves are thus afflicted in winter, 
let them run among sheep, and the lice will soon clear 
out. 

Another. Take water in which potatoes have been 
boiled, and rub it all over the animals — cattle, horses, 
or hogs. 

Another. New rum or whiskey. 

Another. Yellow snuff. 

PHYSIC. 

For the general effects of physic, see page 33. The 
principal purgative used for cattle is Epsom and Glau- 
ber's salts ; one pound for a common dose, for a full 
grown animal ; and half doses may be repeated every 
four or five hours, until an operation is produced?; or, 
instead of the repetition of salts, give six or eight ounces 
of sulphur. Sulphur alone, in half pound doses, is a 
moderate laxative, but rather slow in its operation. 

Linseed oil, from a pint to a pint and a half, is a good 
purgative ; it is as good as castor-oil, or olive oil, and 
much cheaper ; and it is surer than the former. Either 
of these oils may be used. Thorough wort tea is a good 
physic. Aloes, though the best purgative for the horse, 
is uncertain for cattle, and sometimes dangerous, pro- 
ducing irritation and fever. The staple purgative for 
cattle is Epsom salts ; they are more certain than Glau- 
ber's, and dissolve in less water. In all cases of severe 
costiveness, back-rake, and give injections — exciting 
ones if necessary ; else it may be dangerous to give 
powerful doses of physic, or to repeat them, when the 
bowels are obstinately obstructed. 

Physic is useful in the following cases : — 

1. A purging drink, soon after calving, prevents the 
milk fever in cows. 

2. A moderate purge given to old cattle once in five 



188 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

or six weeks, is good to preserve health, and prevent 
garget in cows. 

3. A purge is good in cases of constipation of the 
bowels. 

4. In fevers physic is good, as it keeps the bowels 
open when there is a tendency to costiveness. 

5. When, from too luxurious food, cattle eat to excess, 
and grow dull and heavy, with loss of appetite, and 
have symptoms of fever, purgatives will give relief. 

6. In jaundice, physic is good j tonic medicines should 
follow. 

7. When medicines are given to cows to prevent 
abortion, they should be preceded by gentle physic. 

8. Purging medicines are good in inflammatory com- 
plaints, whether general or local. 

DIURETICS. 

Saltpetre, turpentine, and rosin are used for cattle. 
The dose of either is from half an ounce to an ounce. 
The following is a good diuretic drink : saltpetre, half 
an ounce ; rosin, half an ounce ; ginger, two drachms j 
mix in a little molasses and gruel. 

HERNIA, OR RUPTURE. 

In this complaint the intestine protrudes through the 
walls of the abdomen. It is occasioned by external 
violence and other causes. Some calves are dropped in 
this condition. The external wound may be small, or 
the injury such that the skin is not broken, and yet the 
internal wall of the belly may be ruptured. A tumor 
soon appears, which is a portion of the intestine. Some- 
times it seems to affect the health of the animal only a 
little at first, but it soon becomes painful, strangulation 
takes place, and the contents of the intestines are ob 
structed in their passage through the protruded parts. 

Throw the beast and place him on his back, with the 
hind parts somewhat elevated. Make an incision 
through the skin, corresponding with the length of the 
tumor, taking especial care that the intestine immedi 



NEAT CATTLE. 189 

ately underneath be not wounded. If there be not room 
to return the protruded intestine, owing to strangulation, 
then make the wound larger, carefully tutting between 
the fingers with a crooked knife or bistoury, and return 
the bowel. 

Then bring the edges of the wound through the walls 
of the belly together, and retain them with stitches. The 
skin, if necessary, must be dissected back a little, in 
order to get at the whole wound. Then take stitches in 
the skin, bringing the edges close together. In a few 
cases, it is possible, and when it is, it is advisable to 
include the skin and muscular wall of the belly in the 
same stitch. A little simple ointment may be applied 
to the external parts to keep them soft and prevent 
soreness. 

Apply a bandage of cloth some inches wider than the 
wound ; sew it on, and let it remain ten days. When 
the edges of the wound shall have adhered mostly, re- 
move the stitches and treat it as a common sore. 
Should much swelling appear under the bandage, 
foment it with warm water. The beast should be kept 
on light food, such as bran mashes, grass or hay, and on 
short allowance, and a dose or two of physic should be 
given during the progress of the cure. 

In some cases the animal has recovered when there 
has been a rent in the intestine, if it has been stitched 
carefully. Thomas Brayer, an English cattle doctor, 
opened an ox in the flank, took out the most of his 
bowels, found a stoppage in the intestine, that was 
putrid three quarters of a yard in length, which he cut 
away, drew the sound ends together, upon a hollow 
keck, three inches long, sewed the ends together on it, 
leaving the keck within the bowels, and then sewed up 
the flank. In an hour the ox dunged, and the keck 
came away. He recovered and did service for years. 
An extraordinary case of healing power. 

COLIC. 

Symptoms. The beast is uneasy ; lying down and 
getting up often, and sometimes swelling much, without 
signs of fever at first. 



190 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

Remedy. Half a pint or a pint of hot drops is safe 
and sure. 

Another. A pint of linseed oil, with half an ounce 
of laudanum. 

Another. Give exciting clysters, and aromatics, such 
as sage, pennyroyal, peppermint, or other warming tea, 
in liberal doses. 

Another. Take a quart of warm water, add half a 
pint of gin, sweeten with molasses ; then put in half a 
pint of ground mustard seed, and pour it down. 

WARTS, WENS AND TUMORS. 

Mix tar and salt, and apply them ; continue the prac- 
tice, renewing the application frequently, until a cure is 
effected. 

As a remedy for wens, some cast the animal and cut 
out the wen, then fill the cavity with powdered rosin and 
salt, well mixed ; and carefully bring the skin back to 
its place and sew it up. Or wash the wen often, and 
for a long time, with warm vinegar, saturated with 
common salt. We have known large wens cured by 
warm salt water alone. Or put a hair seton through 
those that are not a sitfasts, or a wolf on the jaw, when 
they appear to be ripe, and wash them daily in soft soap. 

For warts, cut them open, and apply blue vitriol, 
(sulphate of copper,) in powder. A physician was in- 
duced to try this, (and it was attended with excellent 
success,) from learning that a boy had many warts 
cured on his hands by sorting brass nails, from the 
influence of the copper in the brass. Neither the cut- 
ting nor the application is painful. Or apply to waiiu 
raw grated carrots, mixed with salt. Warts are some- 
times cured by the application of spirits of turpentine, 
or lunar caustic. 

LOSS OF CUD. 

The food of cattle and sheep, and other rumirjating 
animals, is returne 1 from the stomach to the mouth, to 
undergo a second grinding. The loss of cud is only 



NEAT CATTLE. 191 

a symptom of disease, not a disease of itself. Fever, 
debility, indigestion, and other causes, produce loss of 
cud. In cases of fever, give physic, as salts, and then 
aromatics, as ginger and caraway. In case of debility, 
give tonics, as gentian, columbo, and cascarilla. In 
case of indigestion, give exercise, if the animal does not 
have enough, and give roots, bran mashes, and other 
light and laxative food. Take a cud from another ani- 
mal, divide it, and give the patient one half; or take 
the fine inner part of white elder, (Sambucus alba or 
canadensis,) scrape it line, and give a wad for a cud. 

OVER-HEATING AND OVER-DRAWING. 

Sometimes cattle, especially oxen, from too much 
labor and fatigue, in hot weather, become over-heated 
and almost melted. This relaxes the whole system, so 
that it is seldom restored to its original state. The 
circulation becomes slow, the perspiration diminished 
and retained, and the beast is sluggish and compara 
tively useless through life. 

Remedy. Give immediately, to each grown animal, a 
quart of gin, or, for want of that, a quart of West India 
rum, or new rum, or whiskey, in a little less quantity. 
This, acting as a stimulus, will restore, in a measure, 
the system to its primitive tone, quicken the fluids, pro- 
mote all the secretions, and generally cure. 

Another. Cayenne pepper, or hot drops, or any 
warm, diffusive stimulus, is good. The effect of warm 
medicines is to keep up the circulation and induce a 
slow and gradual cooling, and prevent the great evil 
resulting from a sudden change from hot to cold ; as in 
cases of freezing, the frost is taken out by snow or cold 
water, to prevent the sad effects of sudden thawing. 

Another. Mr. Jedediah Dow, of Portland, Me., has 
often tried, and highly recommends, a strong liquor 
made from a peck of ivy leaves, often called mercury or 
poison vine, {Rhus radicans,) while green, boiled down 
to a strong liquor. Give a pint for a dose. A few 
doses may be given at suitable intervals. It is said tc 
be harmless. It seems that this is a remedy some time 



192 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

after the evil has occurred. Be cautious in the use of 
this plant, as many persons are poisoned by touching it. 
and even some by looking at it, or by its effluvia. 

For Oxen strained by Over-Drawing. Half a pint 
of soft soap; stirred up in a pint of new milk, and poured 
down the throat, is said to be a speedy cure. 

MAD ITCH. 

This disease frequently comes on with a kind of cough 
or jerk, at every breath. The brute jerks itself full of 
wind, frequently licking its sides and back, occasion- 
ally rubbing its head, and if not stopped in five or six 
hours, it rubs with apparent madness, and continues to 
swell till death, which will be within ten or twelve hours 
after the attack. It is supposed that this disorder is 
sometimes caused by cattle following hogs and eating- 
corn-stalks which hogs have chewed and rejected, after 
extracting the sap or nutriment, and thus rendering 
them indigestible, which creates a fever and destroys 
the animal. 

Remedy. Give the animal as much salt and soot as 
she will eat, and in a few hours give her from three 
quarters to one pound of sulphur or pulverized brim- 
stone. In twenty-four hours give her a pound of salt. 

JAUNDICE, OR YELLOWS. 

This disease is not acute, nor is it marked at once by 
any prominent symptoms, but it creeps on insidiously, 
and it frequently gains a strong hold before it is known, 
and it is often obstinate and very difficult to remove. 

Causes. The immediate causes are, an affection of 
the liver, by which there are too great secretions of the 
bile, or it is too thick to pass freely, or the duct by which 
the bile passes into the intestines is obstructed, and it is 
thrown back into the circulation. The remote or origi- 
nal cause is hard to trace. Food, drink, atmosphere, 
exposure, want of exercise, and other circumstances, 
have an influence. Inaction is the most fruitful cause, 
especially under high feeding. 



NEAT CATTLE. 193 

Symptoms. Dulness, langor, loss of appetite, wan- 
dering about, dejection, reduction of milk, (in cows,) 
dryness and hardness of the skin, staring ol the coat, 
yellowness of the eyes, mouth and urine. 

Treatment. If the bowels are constipated, physic 
thoroughly, and continue partial doses of physic ; give 
also loosening food, such as bran mashes, potatoes, car- 
rots, and green herbage ; or, if in winter, good clover 
hay. This treatment will prepare the system for as- 
tringents, which are the main curatives in this disease ; 
stomachics are necessary to arouse to action and give 
proper tone to the digestive organs ; and by giving 
gentle purgatives, or partial doses, and laxative food, 
astringents may be given without producing costive- 
ness. 

The following astringents are good to remove the dis- 
ease : A decoction or cold infusion of yellow birch, black 
cherry, or barberry bark, or all mixed together. Give 
at the same time some warming medicine, such as gin- 
ger, caraway seeds, a small quantity of Cayenne pepper, 
pennyroyal, or other warm aromatic herb tea. Rasp- 
berry tea is good as a mild, moderate tonic and anodyne. 

The following tonic is excellent: Powdered gentian 
root, half an ounce : powdered ginger, one drachm ; 
Epsom salts, two ounces ; mix in a pint of gruel, and 
srive half in the morning and half at night. [See page 
117.] 

WOUNDS. 

Very aggravated wounds in cattle are frequently cured 
with the yolk of an egg mixed with spirits of turpentine. 
Bathe the parts affected with the mixture. 

Another Remedy. Steep Life of Man root in chamber 
lye ; boil it down one half, and bathe the wound several 
times i day with it. It is said to be very effectual. 
[Sec. pages 51 and 56.] 
17 



194 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



FEVER. 

Cattle are liable to this disease at all seasons, but it 
prevails most in the spring and fall. It is most common 
to young animal. Sometimes it is caused by too rich 
food. Colds, from exposure, or change of atmosphere, 
may produce it. There are various other causes. 

Symptoms. Stronger and more frequent pulsations, 
coldness at the tips of the ears, and in the horns, and heat 
at the base of the horns, and in the mouth and breath ; 
dulness and redness of the eyes ; want of appetite and 
rumination ; dryness of the nose, and fallen counte- 
nance. 

Remedy. Sweat, or bleed lighly, early, but when 
the disease has advanced, bleeding would be dangerous 
or fatal. Physic with one pound of salts. If there is no 
effect in six or eight hours, give a clyster of soap suds, 
and repeat in half doses of physic, which continue every 
six hours, till an operation. If the constipation be obsti- 
nate, give an exciting injection. Those who do not 
bleed should continue light doses of physic, and give 
light diuretic doses ; and give daily, till the fever abates, 
a good dose of raspberry tea. Nurse carefully, and give 
light and laxative food. 

fNFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS, AND COS- 
TIVENESS. 

Causes. Going into rivers and ponds after being 
heated and fatigued, and other exposures to cold ; change 
from green to dry feed ; change of pasture to higher 
feed ; too rich feed of any kind, with too little exercise, 
and various other causes. 

Symptoms. The bowels are obstinately constipated ; 
the dung is voided with difficulty, and in small quanti- 
ties, hard, covered with mucus, and sometimes stained 
with blood. The animal lies down, and then rises 
quickly ; strikes at his belly with his hind feet. Contrary 
to colic, a fever attends this disease, and the muzzle is 
dry, and the mouth hot. 



NEAT CATTLE. 195 

Treatment. First, back-rake in a thorough manner j 
then give exciting clysters, to clear out the intestines 
and stimulate the bowels to action j and as the third 
stomach, in this disease, is choked up with dry food, 
wash this out, so as to open a passage through to the 
fourth stomach, by giving warm water or thin gruel, 
and if the beast will not drink it, turn down several 
quarts. 

Then sweat, if necessary from the severity of the case, 
and administer a dose of physic, and repeat half doses 
every five or six hours, till an operation is produced. 
See that there is a thorough purging, by which large 
quantities of faeces are removed from the bowels, else 
there has been only a partial operation, and hardened 
matter still obstructs the passages. After the physic has 
operated well, feed lightly, at first on mashes and 
green food, gradually changing to common diet, and the 
usual quantity. 

Sometimes inflammation of the bowels occurs without 
costiveness, and the symptoms are the same, excepting 
those that result from costiveness. In this case, large 
quantities of raspberry tea, which is excellent for the 
reduction of inflammation, internal or external, will gen- 
erally afford relief; or give other astringent or sedative 
teas. 

VOMITING. 

This evil is rare, but when it does ha.ppen, it is fre 
quently serious. An ox, that vomited for fifteen days, 
throwing up his food and drink soon after taken, became 
much reduced, but was cured as follows : — An infusion 
of mint was given, with an ounce of camphor, suspended 
in a sufficient quantity of vinegar, added to every two 
bottles of infusion. This remained on the stomach. In 
three hours after, a very little hay was given, which was 
retained. He drank some water, whitened with rye 
meal, and he soon began to ruminate. The owner now 
indiscreetly fed too largely, and the disorder returned, 
but was again checked by the infusion. He soon re 
covered. 



196 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

To a cow that was taken violently with vomiting, 
ibree pints of an infusion of peppermint, with six 
drachms of camphor, dissolved in vinegar, were given 
and retained. Food that was given was soon returned. 
Bat after three drinks had been given, (at what intervals 
not named,) the stomach retained hay, and she ruminated. 
Next day, she vomited a little after eating, but another 
drink checked it ; food was given her in a few hours, and 
she was sick no more. A similar case was treated in the 
same way, with a like result. 

Other cases have been treated in the same manner, 
with success ; but sometimes obstinate cases require n 
course of infusion for several days, before food can be 
safely taken in considerable quantity. We published 
this treatment in the Yankee Farmer, and from that, 
some have practised on it with success. 

Another. Boil tansy and mint together ; give one 
quart of this to the beast If it does not stop, repeat the 
dose every hour. 

RABIES, OR MADNESS. 

This terrible malady is produced by the bite of a mad 
dog, and it shows itself from a few weeks to several 
months after the bite. 

Symptoms. Dull appearance; loss of appetite j anx- 
ious looks ; red and protruding eyes ; pitiful lows ; con- 
stant voiding of dung and urine ; driveling of saliva 
from the mouth ; after a few days, the discharge dries up, 
and terrible thirst succeeds ; then follows weakness of 
the loins and staggering ; palsy of the hind limbs suc- 
ceeds, and after lingering some six or seven days, the 
animal dies. Sometimes he is terribly ferocious, run- 
ning furiously at every object, bellowing and tearing up 
the ground, and goring his companions. 

There is no cure for this disease ; and the most pru- 
dent way is to kill the animal as soon as the disease is 
well known. Perhaps it may be prevented, immediately 
after the bite, by cutting the wound so as to cause it to 
bleed, pressing out the blood, and afterwards applying 
%ome alkali, such as ammonia, a solution of pot or pearl 



NEAT CATTLE. 197. 

ash, or a lye of wood ashes ; or apply some caustic. The 
bleeding may expel the poison, and thus prevent its 
entering the circulation. [See page 277.] 

STAGGERS. 

Cause. A change from poverty to rich feeding. It 
is most common in cattle turned into luxuriant pastur 
age in the spring, or early in the summer ; and those 
that have been kept poorly during the winter are most 
liable to this disease. 

Symptoms. Dulness ; a constant disposition to sleep, 
resting the head on any convenient place, and reeling 
and staggering in attempting to walk. If this disease 
is not checked soon, it will be likely to terminate in 
inflammation of the brain, or a general fever. 

Remedy. Bleeding is prierised, but sweating may be 
preferable. Give physic, and if there be constipation of 
the bowels, give injections ; if the costiveness be severe 
and obstinate, back-rake also. Feed lightly, and let the 
animal gradually return to good keeping. Those who 
do not bleed may aid in the cure by giving a mild diu- 
retic. Saltpetre is good. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN. 

This is not common, but it is a very severe disease. 
It is sometimes called frenzy. It is most prevalent in 
well fed cattle, and in the hot season. 

Causes. A redundancy of blood, induced by cattle 
thriving too fast when turned into rich pastures ; or 
being fattened too fast, to fit them for show or sale. It 
is sometimes caused by an intense sun, when they are 
in fields without shade. It may be brought on by con- 
tusions or fright. 

Symptoms. The beast is dull and stupid, in the early 
stage : his head is protruded ; he ceases to eat or rumi 
nate, and appears unconscious. He will stand motion- 
less ; after awhile he may drop, and then start up sud- 
denly, look wild, stagger, fall, and rise ; runs against 
everything in his way. At other times, he is inclined 
17# 



19S DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

to mischief ; he stamps, tears up the ground with his 
horns, bellows tremendously, attacks every one within 
nis reach, and so continues till exhausted, and he soon 
dies. 

Remedy. If the animal be costive, back-rake and 
give injections. Bleed till he falters, and give physic. 
If the disease does not abate, insert a seton on each side 
of the poll, well smeared with blistering ointment. Give 
mashes and green food, if in the season j if not, give a 
few roots. Feed lightly. If he will not eat, turn gruel 
down the throat. Avoid tonics and stimulants. 

HORN OR HEAD-AIL. 

Some have attributed this disease to an affection in the 
tail, and have commenced doctoring the animal at that 
end. But some cattle that have unfortunately lost their 
tails, have had this disease. In some severe cases, there 
is no doubt that the affection extends through the spine, 
and the tail is affected also. 

Sanford Howard Esq., one of the editors of the Albany 
Cultivator, distinguished as an excellent manager 01 
stock, says that the hollow horn, as it is called, is inci- 
dent to cattle without horns j that it is an inflammation 
of the lining of the nostrils and the cavities of the head 
and horns, sometimes extending to the brain, and pro- 
ducing vertigo, and in its advanced stages affecting the 
digestive organs, the heart, lungs, and the whole sys- 
tem, and death follows. The predisposing causes of 
this disease are weakness, debility, and exposure ; and 
the effects are similar to a severe cold in the human 
race. Sometimes the nostrils are nearly filled by inflam- 
mation, and matter collected in them. 

Symptoms. General dulness ; tardiness in moving; 
yellow, viscous matter about the eyes ; failure of appe- 
tite ; a disposition to lie down 5 giddiness, and frequent 
tossing of the head ; often a stiffness of limbs, and, in 
cows, the milk fails, and there is always a wasting of 
flesh ; the horn loses its natural heat, and feels cold to 
the hand. 

Preventives. Turpentine applied to the head, be- 



NEAT CATTLE. 199 

tween the horns. The occasional use of garget root, 
poke weed, ( Phytolacca decandra.) Soot, salt, and pepper, 
given occasionally. 

Treatment. Some recommend bleeding, but this 
sometimes proves fatal. Perhaps it has been useful Lb 
some cases, of animals in high condition, and in a fever, 
which has induced this recommendation. Animals in 
low condition are most subject to this disease, and they 
shouLi have nourishing food to keep up their strength, 
unless a fever prevails. Keep them in a warm shelter. 
clothe warmly, and give warming, soothing teas, and 
warm gruel. If the tail is affected, cut it oil'. If there 
be a pressure of matter in the horns, boring them will 
give temporary relief. Give gentle physic. Rub the 
animal frequently, particularly on the back. An appli- 
cation between the horns, as hot as can be borne, of 
spirits of turpentine and good vinegar, one gill each, 
and salt and black or red pepper, half a gill each, sim- 
mered together, and retained by a cloth wound round 
the horns, will be highly useful, and has, in some cases, 
cured alone. This general course of treatment, or parts 
of it, will be useful in aid of other remedies. 

Remedy. Joseph Fichner, veterinary surgeon, who 
had long practised in France and Philadelphia, says, 
"The animal is in a high fever, as perceived by the 
throbbing of the breast. Bleed one or two quarts, and 
give two table spoonfuls, three times a day, of the fol- 
lowing mixture, dissolved in a pint of warm water, until 
the animal recovers: — Glauber's salts, six ounces; 
cream of tartar, two ounces; purified saltpetre, two 
ounces ; powdered root of althese, one and a half ounces. 
If the animal be costive, give a clyster of one handful of 
camomile flowers, and two* handfuls of flax-seed, boiled 
in two quarts of water, and strained ; to which add 
half a pound of linseed oil, and half a gill of salt. 
Or use a quart of wheat bran, instead of the flowers and 
flax-seed." 

If a discharge be effected at the nose in season, there 
will be no need of boring the horns. Mr. Abel Gleason, 
of Wayland, Mass., has pursued the following method, 
with excellent success : " Put half of a table spoonful of 



200 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

spirits of turpentine on the head, between the horns, and 
with a syringe inject into the nostrils strong vinegar 
salt and pepper, keeping the head up during the opera' 
tion. This will produce a copious discharge from the 
nose." Give gentle physic, and if the animal is in higL 
condition, feed lightly for a while. 

Another. The Massachusetts Ploughman says, thai 
Mr. Eliphalet Collins, of Bradford, cures the horn-ail by 
soft soap and common salt, equal parts, in a bag, and 
tied on between the horns. It may be necessary to 
renew the application two or three times. Mr. Sheldon, 
of Wilmington, uses this remedy, and he thinks the cure 
is effected by the animal's licking the soap and salt that 
run down on its nose. 

Another. It is said that some cases have been cured 
by pouring half a gill of spirits of turpentine into the 
cavity on the head, just behind the horns, and repeating 
it once a week ; but this is used mostly as a preventive 
Some say that this is good, but a spoonful of hot brim- 
stone is better. 

TAIL SICKNESS 

This disease is a wasting of the end of the tail, and if 
it be not cut off above where it is affected, the disease 
will generally extend, and prove fatal. It is attended 
with weakness and sluggishness. The end of the tail 
becomes hollow and relaxed. 

Remedy. Amputate a small piece of the tail, which 
will be attended with the loss of some blood. But when 
the tail is but little affected, and near the end, a slit of 
an inch and a half in length is preferable to amputation. 

HOOF-AIL. 

Cause. Driving cattle on hard or muddy roads \ 
numerous other causes are assigned, among which is 
bad food. 

Symptoms. Lameness, inflammation, swelling in the 
feet, soreness between the claws of the hoof. 

Remedy. Wash the foot in a strong pickle of salt and 



NEAT CATTLE. 



201 



water; and if this does not cure, use an ointment of 
corrosive sublimate and lard. If the parts between the 
hoof have become dry and hard, cut them out and apply 
a healing ointment. 

Another. We have found blue vitriol an excellent 
emedy. Apply a solution twice a day. 

Another. With a chisel cut off three fourths of an 
nch of the toe of the hoof ; if it does not bleed freely, 
ike a shaving more, till the blood runs freely. It will 
top- bleeding in fifteen or twenty minutes. Keep the 
jrimal out of wet and mud two or three days, and he 
rill soon be fit for labor. 

WOLF, OR HOLDFAST. 

This generally occurs in cattle from two to four years 
old, when they are shedding their teeth. It is supposed 
to be caused by the old teeth being retained when the 
new ones are starting, which causes the new teeth to 
grow out on the side of the jaw, in bony excrescences. 
Some have cured by pulling out the old teeth, that are 
in the way, and which are generally carious. One 
writer says that spirits of turpentine, applied externally, 
will cure the wolf, if taken in time. It affects the ani- 
mal sensibly at first, but he soon gets over it. 

COLDS, COUGH AND HOOSE. 

When the cough is slight, warm housing alone may 
cure ; it may be necessary to give a warm drink, such 
as sage, pennyroyal, or other herb tea, sweetened with 
molasses ; or, as a more effective medicine, give a table 
spoonful of tar, and the same quantity of honey or mo- 
lasses, mixed with a quart of new milk, in which steep 
a head of garlic, or two onions, bruised fine. Give green 
food if it can be had j if not, feed partially with roots and 
mashes. 

If the disease continue, and the animal loses flesh, 
becomes hide-bound, and its coat is staring, it is a seri- 
ous affair, and in addition to the above treatment, give 
gentle laxatives, say half doses of physic, and nourish 



202 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

ing drinks, such as gruel, flax-seed tea, infusion of malt, 
and if there be no symptoms of fever, give with the laxa- 
tive medicines some cordial, such as an ounce of cara- 
way seeds, and three or four drachms of ginger. Keep 
the animal dry and warm, and give good ventilation. 
In favorable weather, the field is the best place in the 
day time. Many practise bleeding for colds, but this 
should be done in its first stages, before the animal is 
reduced in flesh and strength. As soon as the disease 
assumes a serious form, a seton should be put into the 
dewlap. 

Stimulating drinks should not be given. If there be 
difficulty in swallowing, rub the following liniment on 
the throat : one ounce of the spirits of turpentine, or 
any common oil, and half an ounce of liquid ammonia. 

Sometimes an epidemic prevails extensively, from 
sudden changes in the weather, or atmospheric influ- 
ence, often called catarrh and influenza, affecting the 
head and throat, and sometimes the lungs, similar to 
these diseases in the human race, and often proving 
very severe, without early attention. If the lungs be 
not affected at first, they soon will be if the tlisease be 
neglected. As a further treatment m such severe cases, 
bruise two ounces of liquorice root, steep it well in a 
quart of water, then add two drachms of powdered 
squills 5 sweeten with honey or molasses, and give 
morning and night. 

If this treatment does cure, the cough continues, and 
there is reason to suppose that there are worms in the 
air passages, which, in cases of the hoose, or advanced 
stages of colds and coughs, is often the case, give a 
drink for worms, prepared* thus : spirits of turpentine, 
two ounces ; sweet spirit of nitre, one ounce ; laudanum, 
half an ounce ; linseed oil, four ounces ; mix, and give 
in a pint of gruel. This medicine enters into the circu- 
lation, and affects the worms in the lungs, and in the 
passages to them : for the turpentine can be smelled in 
the breath of the animal, after taking this medicine. 
Those medicines recommended for Husk in calves will 
be good when the disease has run on to that state. 



NEAT CATTLE. 203 



INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 

Causes. Catarrh or cold neglected may end in the 
disease j it is also caused by obstructed perspiration 
from sudden and great changes m the weather, or expos- 
ure to wet ; by being driven long distances and exposed 
to damp, cold air at night. Young cattle, particularly 
calves, are most liable to it. Neglect of currying and 
rubbing is a predisposing cause. 

Symptoms. Dulness, shivering, a sore cough, cold- 
ness in the ears, legs and roots of the horns, heat in the 
breath and mouth, ropy discharge from the mouth, inac- 
tivity, and heaving of the flanks. 

Remedy. Sweat or Bleed in the beginning, and put a 
seton in the dewlap, and give a dose of physic. Give 
warm water for drink, and give bran mashes. Give 
flax-seed tea, and soothing herb teas, with molasses or 
honey. Keep the animal dry and warm. 

HUSK, OR HOOSE, IN CALVES. 

It may be seen by the last article the first or original 
cause of this disease. The immediate cause is worms 
in the windpipe, which occasions violent irritation, and 
a constant noosing, or coughing, and if no remedy be 
used, the organs of digestion become impaired, and con- 
sumptive symptoms soon follow. The disease often 
runs through the whole herd, occasioning great mor- 
tality. It is most prevalent in dry summers. It re- 
quired prompt attention. 

Remedy. Asafcetida, three ounces; aloes, three 
ounces ; one quart of vinegar. Boil together till dis- 
solved. Give each calf a table spoonful, in each nostril, 
every third day, taking care to hold the head well up, so 
as to prevent waste. Generally three applications will 
cure. 

Another. One pint of spirits of turpentine, one ditto 
of train oil, two ounces of spirits of vitriol, two ditto of 
asafcetida, and two ditto of hartshorn. Mix the whole 
in a bottle, and shake it well Pour one table spoonfu? 



204 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

down each nostril, three successive mornings. The 
calves must fast the night previous to giving the dose. 
If the first trial does not succeed, repeat it after eight or 
nine days. 

DIARRHOEA, OR LOOSENESS. 

There are various causes for diarrhoea, such as a 
change from dry to green food, or from short to luxu- 
riant pastures, change of climate, change of food 01 
water, poisonous plants, atmospheric influence, and 
other causes. 

It should not always be regarded as a disease ; there- 
fore it should not be stopped immediately, as it may be 
only an effort of nature to throw off disease, or prevent 
it, by discharging something that is injurious. Let it 
run twenty-four hours. Then if it be violent, give half 
a dose of physic, with a table spoonful of ginger, in order 
to assist nature in ridding the bowels of any irritant 
matter. Next day, give astringent medicines, and keep 
the animal on dry food. If neglected or ill treated, this 
disease is liable to degenerate into dysentery, which is a 
more serious complaint. 

These diseases are often confounded ; diarrhoea is the 
voiding of dung in too fluid a form, in large quantities, 
and in a full stream. It sometimes has an offensive 
smell, and is occasionally mingled with blood; it is 
incidental, occurring at all seasons of the year, and 
often stopping of itself. Yet this is often the precursor 
of 

DYSENTERY. 

Causes. Long journeys, and lying out on cold, wet 
nights, exposure to sudden changes of weather, taking 
cold after calving. It is most common in spring and 
fall, and in low, wet, swampy situations. It sometimes 
results from neglected diarrhoea. 

Symptoms. If not preceded by diarrhoea, it begins 
with frequent and painful efforts to discharge dung, 
which is thin, slimy and stinking, mingled with mucus. 



NEAT CATTLE. 205 

and often with blood , the animal is restless and in pain, 
often lying down and rising ; a rumbling noise is heard 
m the intestines. If neglected, he grows poor, though 
the appetite and rumination continue for some time ; at 
length these fail, and the food passes off half digested. 
As it continues, the mucous membrane, or lining of the 
intestines, sloughs off, and mingles with the dung. 
This disease consists in the inflammation of the lining 
of the large intestines. 

Remedy. Sweat, and give a pound of salts, with an 
ounce of powdered caraway seeds, in order to remove 
from the bowels the offensive matter which may cause 
the disease. Put the animal in a house or yard, and 
feed on hay, and ground oats or mashes, and oil cake. 
If he will not eat, for two or three days make thick gruel 
of these, and turn down a little three or four times a day. 

If the purging be not checked in twenty-four hours 
after giving physic, give moderate astringents only, as 
it will be dangerous to stop it suddenly. Raspberry tea 
is a mild astringent ; it is an anodyne, also, having a 
very soothing effect on the irritated and excoriated 
bowels. If it do not stop soon, give mutton suet one 
pound, and new milk two quarts, boiled together till 
the suet is dissolved ; then add half a drachm of opium, 
and half a drachm of ginger, first mixed with a spoonful 
or two of liquid. 

Another. The following is a good astringent medi- 
cine, after the bowels have been well cleared out with 
a purgative : Powdered chalk, one ounce ; opium, one 
drachm ; catechu, four drachms ; ginger, two drachms ; 
mix, and give in gruel. 

Another. Sweet gum bark. [See page 107.] 

Another. Charcoal powder has cured almost hope- 
less cases in the human subject, when the patient was 
reduced to a very low state. Burn soft seasoned pine, 
that is pure and lively or bright, to a coal, then quench 
it. Pulverize, and mix with honey or lard, and then 
grind fine as possible. Mix in warm milk or water, 
and give. A tea- spoonful is a dose for an infant, and 
nearly a great spoonful for an adult. Give an ox or 
cow four to eight table spoonfuls. Charcoal is a disin 
18 



-06 DISEASE OF ANIMALS. 

fectant, and ftas a salutary effect on the bowels, which, 
in a severe case, and advanced stage of this disease, are 
tending to a putrid condition. 

Some of the remedies recommended for Looseness in 
Calves, and for Scours and Dysentery in Sheep, are good 
for cattle. 

LOOSENESS, OR SCOURS, IN CALVES. 

Young calves are frequently destroyed by scours, ii 
not stopped soon after the attack. The disease is often 
caused by exposure to too great heat or cold ; sometimes 
to rains, and frequently to too great a flow of milk, 
when the dam's udder is feverish, or when she eats 
unwholesome food. The mucous membrane becomes 
inflamed, the discharges are white and watery, and if 
the disease is not checked in a few days, or weeks at 
most, the lungs inflame, and death ensues. When the 
little animal becomes affected, it should be put in a 
warm, dry stable, and not permitted to suck more than 
half the quantity of milk it is wont to do, but should be 
let to the cow regularly three times during the day. 

Remedy. Make a tea, of equal portions of white oak, 
beech, and slippery-elm bark, and give in moderate 
doses, twice a day. Linden or bass wood, or white pine, 
may be substituted for slippery-elm ; and raspberry, or 
other vegetable astringent, for white oak. 

Another. A little powdered chalk, given daily. If 
calves are supplied with chalk, &c, as recommended on 
page 181. they will seldom be troubled with this dis- 
order. 

Another. A table spoonful of ground allspice in a 
gill of boiling water, given when lukewarm, twice a 
day. 

Another. Give, twice a day, half an ounce of salts, 
equal proportions of Epsom and Glauber's. An experi- 
enced veterinarian recommends this as very safe and 
effectual. 

Another. Break, and beat up two eggs, and poui 
hem down the throat, twice a day. [See the last two 
articles, page 204.] 



NEAT CATTLE. 207 

Caution. Be careful in giving astringent medicines, 
lest the looseness be checked too suddenly, as this may 
prove fatal. 

MANGE, SCURF, OR SCAB. 

This is a cutaneous disease, which is very contagious, 
for as many cows as come in contact with one having 
the disorder, will be sure to catch it. Its symptoms are 
a scurf on the external part of the body, which is always 
attended with an itching. Some say that it is a kind of 
animalcule, which burrows in the skm. It generally 
attacks those animals which are low in flesh, and have 
been fed on poor forage. 

The first step is, to take a currycomb, and gently cur- 
ry off the scurf. After this, the following application is 
to be rubbed on the parts affected, which may be repeated 
every three or four days till a cure is effected ; and it 
seldom requires more than two or three* applications : — 
Sulphur, one pound ; spirits of turpentine, half a pint ; 
train oil, enough to make it into a liquid. 

Another. Mix tar and soft soap, and apply it to the 
parts affected. 

Another. Lard and sulphur, in equal parts ; melt, 
mix, and apply all over the affected parts 5 or, in severe 
cases, all over the animal. [See Itch, in "Swine."] 

CHOKING. 

As cattle are choked with various substances of differ- 
ent forms, and of different degrees of hardness, and the 
substance may be high or low in the throat, no one 
mode nor any definite rules will do in all cases. The 
operator must judge what is best from the circumstances. 

When the obstruction is at the upper part of the 
throat, the hand may be run down, through a wheel-box, 
or piece of wood with a hole in it, put in the mouth, tc 
prevent being bitten, and the impediment removed ; or 
by placing some gun-powder on the lower part of the 
tongue, the coughing which follows may throw it out. 

When the substance is far down, near the stomach, i* 



208 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

may be pushed down with a stick, like a hoe handle 
square at the end, that it may not slip by the anicle, 
and wound the gullet. One of the surest and best modes 
of relief is to have a probang, or hollow tube, to run 
down the throat, with metal at the end, nearly large 
enough to encircle the obstructing substance, and with a 
rod in the tube, and a corkscrew attached to the end. 
bore into the obstruction, and extract it. The corkscrew 
should play in the centre, to avoid wounding the throat 

Another Mode. Sometimes by turning soap suds 01 
oil down the throat, and rubbing it, and pushing up and 
down externally, the obstruction can be removed. 

Another. An animal was choked with an apple, and 
no means were at hand affording relief; he was cast, 
and an incision made in the throat, and the apple re- 
moved. In a few days he seemed to be well. 

Another. A butcher grasped the windpipe of a cow 
that was choked, just below the potato, and held firmly 
a minute or two, stopping her breath ; she sprang for- 
ward violently, and was relieved by the potato's going 
down. 

Another. "We have known animals that have been 
choked with potatoes relieved by putting a block against 
the throat, and smashing the potato, by a mallet, and no 
injury followed. This is condemned as too harsh, as the 
bruising of the throat may produce inflammation. 

BLAIN, OR BLADDERS. 

The tongue is swelled, and on the side, and under it, 
are bladders filled with a glutinous matter. 

Causes. High condition and rich pasturage, produc- 
ing a redundancy of blood, or from taking cold in that 
state. Yet it occurs sometimes in various situations, 
and at all seasons, but is most common in wet, marshy 
situations, and in hot, sultry weather. 

Symptoms. Langor, red and inflamed eyes, with 
tears ; swelling about the eyes ; blisters under the 
tongue; quick pulse; heaving of the flanks ; slavering 
at the mouth, and sometimes constipation of the bowels. 

Remedy. Immediate action is necessary, lest the 



NEAT CATTLE. 209 

disease assume a malignant form. Cut the blisters 
along the tongue, or break them with the fingers, and 
considerable matter will ooze out, and give relief. Give 
physic, and feed lightly. If there be a fever, give .a 
fever drink, as follows: — Emetic tartar, one drachm; 
powdered digitalis, half a drachm; saltpetre, three 
drachms ; mix, and give in a quart of gruel, night and 
morning, and keep the bowels open by gentle physic. 

Should loss of appetite and weakness continue after 
the fever has subsided, give the following tonic : — 
Gentian, two drachms ; tartrate of iron, one drachm ; gin 
ger, one drachm ; mix, and give once or twice a day, in 
a quart of gruel. 

As the animal may not eat hard food, on account of 
soreness in the mouth, give soft food, and offer gruel ; 
and if he will not drink it, pour it down his throat two 
or three times a day. 

Mind that no matter from the blain fall on any sore 
place on the hands, as it will cause ulcers, — for cure of 
which, apply lunar caustic. 

BLACK TONGUE. 

[See page 146.] We cured cattle of this disease, and 
prevented its spreading, as follows ; — The head ox was 
first violently seized, so that he could hardly eat for sev- 
eral days. The whole stock were fed liberally with 
potatoes, with a good portion of salt. In a short time 
the second ox was attacked, but not more than half so 
severely. The next animal had it quite mild, and it 
tapered off to nothing, being barely perceptible in the 
fifth, where it ended. They all soon recovered. 

HOVEN, OR BLOAT. 

This disease is caused by turning cattle from short 
pastures, or when empty, upon luxuriant clover. They 
eat to excess, and as the large mass of food is not 
readily digested, fermentation takes place, evolving 
large quantities of carbonic gas : the stomach swells 
almost to bursting, pressing upon the lungs, and ore- 
18* 



210 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

venting their expansion, and if not relieved, the anima 
dies of suffocation. Other tender and luxuriant grasses 
as well as potatoes, turnips, and other succulent food 
will produce this disorder, when taken in excess 
Horned cattle are most liable to this disease ; sheep and 
swine are also subject to it, and horses do not always 
escape. 

Pretention. Do not turn cattle upon luxuriant feed 
until the dew or rain is exhaled ; and if changed from a 
lean pasture, or when empty, allow them to remain but 
a short time, especially at first. Give salt often. 

Symptoms. The paunch is swelled enormously, in 
severe cases. 1 N the last stages of this disease, the 
tongue hangs out of the mouth ; the eyes are protru- 
berant, and the rectum, or last gut, is distended exter- 
nally ; and the beast i^Us, and exhibits signs of the most 
severe pain. 

Treatment. In mild cases, or in the first stages of 
almost any case, drenches nf various kinds will afford 
relief; but in a severe case, far advanced, the passages 
of the stomach are not only st -^ed by the great disten- 
tion, but the stomach is so full ti/U medicines will not 
have their usual effect ; and sometimes, without imme- 
diate relief, by the probang, or by tapping, the animal 
must die. A leaden tube may be useC to open a pas- 
sage to the stomach, and the medicine may be turned 
down through it. In some cases, farmers have opened 
a pnssage with a flexible stick, and let off :he gas, and 
in this way a passage may be opened for med.^ine. All 
medicines given for this disease should be pou ^d down 
suddenly, that they may enter the paunch [S *>age 
185.] 

Remedy. Make a quart of lye of wood ashes, *^d 
turn it down. Judge by the taste whether it is as stri 
as can be taken safely. The alkali neutralizes the gase 
anil the swelling subsides. 

Another. Give volatile spirit of ammonia, a table 
spoonful to an ox or a cow. 

Another. Give a tea-cupful of spirits of turpentine 
diffused in oil. In this way, several pairs of oxen were 
saved, in very severe cases, which it was thought would 
prove fatal. The turpentine is more safe in oil. 



NEAT CATTLE. 211 

Another. Give a dose of rennet, about twice as 
much as used tor a common-sized cheese. 

Another. Give a good strong dose of thoroughwort 
tea, with a little tansy. 

Another. Give a large dose of salt. 

Another. The infusion of camphor, as recommend- 
ed for vomiting in cattle. [See page 195.] 

Another. Incorporate, over a fire, a pint of sharp 
vinegar and half a pound of hog's lard, and add more 
vinegar, that it may not burn. Col. S. Jaques, of the 
Ten Hills Farm, Somerville, distinguished for his atten 
tion to stock, has used a pint of vinegar with success. 

Another. Give two drachms of chloride of lime, dis- 
solved in two quarts of water. 

Another. Give a pint of gin, or a good dose of any 
ardent spirit. 

Another. Twist a band hard, place it in the mouth, 
and tie the ends tight over the top of the head. Chew- 
ing the band gives a motion that causes gas to escape. 

Another. Draw the tongue out suddenly and forci 
bly, which causes eructations of gas. 

Another. In tapping, the operation is performed on 
the left side, between the last rib and hip-bone, a little 
nearer the former. It should be done two or three 
inches deep, in order to reach the paunch. A trocar, 
such as used in tapping for dropsy, should be inserted, 
or an elder or other quill may be used to conduct out 
the gas and contents of the stomach that may escape. 
After the gas has escaped, apply to the orifice an adhe- 
sive plaster. Shoemaker's wax will answer. Although 
this may at first relieve and seem to cure, yet bad conse- 
quences sometimes result from it, that are not known 
until weeks or months afterwards. As the paunch sub- 
sides, leaving the rlank, gas and particles of food may 
be thrown into the abdomen, unless a trocar is carefully 
used. 

Another. The surest and most speedy remedy is the 
stomach-pump, or the probang, by which the gas is let 
off, and immediate relief given ; and then the fermenta- 
tions may be checked by some alkali or stimulus, and 
the contents of the stomach carried cff by a dose of 



212 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

physic. The probang is a leather tube, one and a half 
inches in diameter ; it may be made stiff enough to enter 
the stomach by inserting in it a rod or stick. At the 
insertion end of the probang, there should be a leaden 
tube, with holes in it. The distance from the teeth to 
the stomach of a large ox is six feet. 

When cattle have suffered a severe attack, the stom- 
ach will be weak for some time, and they should be fed 
lightly, and have a good dose of herb drink daily, for 
several days. 

ULCERS. 

When ulcers break out, physic, but do not bleed. Fo- 
ment with warm water, and wash in soap suds ; and 
apply equal parts of turpentine, hartshorn, and campho- 
rated spirits. Wash the ulcers several times a day in a 
solution of chloride of lime. Give mashes and thick 
gruel. A poultice made of the soft pulp of roasted car- 
rots is- excellent for old sores and ulcers. 

MILK SICKNESS. 

This name, together with " Trembles," has been 
applied to a peculiar and most malignant disease, occur- 
ring in some sections of the Western^ States, affecting 
horses, cattle, sheep and goats, and persons who use the 
meat or dairy products of infected cattle. It prevails 
more or less in all the Western States, and extends as far 
south as Mississippi. It is most common in Indiana and 
Illinois ; never occurs east of the Alleghany Mountains. 
Among early settlers it made dreadful ravages, and often 
caused the breaking up of communities, and seeking 
more favorable locations. 

Animals may be so much diseased that their flesh and 
milk will affect persons partaking of it, and yet the ani- 
mals themselves exhibit no evident symptoms of disor- 
der. The latent disease may be discovered by subjecting 
the animals to violent exercise, that will bring on tre- 
mors, spasms, convulsions, or death, according to the 
amount of disease ; in this way butchers try suspected 
animals. 



NEAT CATTLE. 213 

Symptoms generally exhibit themselves but a short 
time before the disease becomes violent. The animal 
walks about without any apparent object in view ; all 
food is refused, and there is evidence of impaired vision. 
The eye is first of a fiery appearance, increasing to a 
deepened red color, until the animal staggers and falls, 
when, if he rises, there will be trembling in the whole of 
the muscular system. He usually dies after a few con- 
vulsions, seldom lingering beyond a few hours. Some- 
times he falls suddenly, as if from a heavy blow, and 
expires in a few minutes. 

Cause. Numerous investigations have been made by 
practical, observing men, and by men of science, ana 
lyzing soils, waters, and plants, and rewards have been 
offered by legislatures, and yet no satisfactory cause has 
been assigned for this terrible malady ; but of late years 
it is supposed to be caused by poison oak, (Rt/s toxicoden- 
dron,) a shrub that grows from one to three feet high, and is 
peculiar to fiat lands, as this disease prevails only where 
this plant is found. It disappears before good cultiva- 
tion ; hence its greater prevalence in new countries. 

As to a remedy, it is very seldom found. It is said 
that if the bowels can be opened, the animal generally 
recovers ; but this is very difficult indeed. First, attend 
to back-raking, and then give several large injections 
with a double quantity of Cayenne pepper or tobacco, to 
excite a discharge from the bowels. Then give a large 
dose of physic, of one kind, and follow with half doses 
or more, of other kinds, at intervals of four or five hours. 
Give also a diuretic. In addition, steam or sweat the 
animal smartly, by standing him over vessels of hot 
water, to which add hot stones, to keep up the heat, and 
lay rugs or quilts over him, to hold the steam, and apply 
cloths from hot water to the extremities, that do not have 
the benefit of the steaming. This steaming and sweat- 
ing will aid in the operation of the medicine, and be 
beneficial also from the perspiration and warmth at the 
surface. At the time of steaming, it would be well to 
pour down several quarts of quite warm sage, penny- 
royal, or other hot herb tea, to which add a little Cay- 
enne. This will tend to excite the action of the stom- 
ach, and increase the perspiration 



214 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



BLOODY MURRAIN. 

Cause. A disordered state of the digestive organs, 
brought on by an unwholesome state of the atmosphere, 
or by feeding on unhealthy pastures of low, damp, cold 
meadows, infested by aquatic plants, which, taken 
into the stomach, become indigestible and putrid, and 
thus engender disease ; for cattle are affected on various 
low land pastures, while they have escaped in interme 
diate pastures of high lands. Bad water promotes it. 
Some attribute this disease to the overflowing of the 
gall, (which is only a secondary cause,) affecting the 
liver, and causing leeches therein, and a flow of blood 
outward or inward. In this country it is most common 
in new sections, in the western region, where cattle run 
in the woods. One writer thinks that a sudden change 
of food, from green to dry, and the reverse, or other 
changes of food, will cause this complaint j hence its 
common occurrence in spring and fall. 

Symptoms. Decrease of appetite, stretching of the 
neck, shaking of the head, drooping of the ears, dulness 
of the eyes, and deafness. These signs increase for 
several days ; then ensue stupidity, unwillingness to 
move, great debility, total loss of appetite, running at 
the nose and eyes, a husky cough, shivering, sometimes 
sickness and throwing up of bile, pulse quick, contracted 
and uneven, a constant diarrhoea of green excrements, 
and frequently bloody matter in the excrements and 
urine, a stinking breath, a nauseous steam from the 
skin that infects the air, tumors or boils under the fleshy 
membrane of the skin, and eruptions appear all along 
the skin. These symptoms generally increase for about 
a week, when the crisis takes place for the better or 
worse. In the last stages, bloody matter is often dis- 
charged from the mouth and nostrils. Sometimes the 
attack comes on very suddenly, and the animal seldom 
lives more than twelve to thirty-six hours after the 
bloody discharges commence, and these may be the 
first symptoms noticed. 

Preventives. Air-slaked lime, or wood ashes. These 



NEAT CATTLE. 215 

correct the foul acid matter in the stcmach. Salt freely 
as a preventive. Give pure water, if possible. Sulphur 
is good. So is tar. Give from a gill to half a pint to 
each grown animal, every two or three weeks. Rub tar 
on the head, between the horns, and on the nose. A 
writer in Ohio says that he used salt and air-slaked 
lime with good success for twenty years. The alkali 
prevents the enlargement of the gall. A writer in the 
" American Farmer" gave his cattle a little slaked lime 
with their salt, two or three times a week, and thus pro- 
tected them, while his neighbors lost many, sometimes 
nearly all, by this disease. In one case, a farmer lost all 
his cattle by murrain, while the cattle of a neighbor, to 
which he gave salt and lime every morning, all escaped, 
though daily running among those that died. 

Treatment. It is best to pay particular attention to 
preventives, as this disease is difficult to cure, or seldom 
cured in severe cases. As soon as an animal is infected, 
remove it from the rest into a well-ventilated shed or 
house. Bleeding copiously is recommended • but do this 
early. Wash the body all over with lukew ,n water 
and vinegar, and rub the skin frequently, tlw the pores, 
may be opened. Make a rowel in the dewlap, and keep 
it open until a cure is effected. If the dung be hard and 
dry, which may be the case in the first symptoms, give 
a cooling purge, such as salts. In case of very obsti- 
nate constipation of the bowels, back-rake, and give 
exciting injections before giving physic. 

Give a drink of bran and water, lukewarm, but give 
no hay until the animal is sufficiently recovered to chew 
the cud. When a purging comes on voluntarily, check 
it by giving four ounces of powdered chalk, two ounces 
of powdered anise-seed, one ounce of powdered ginger, 
and one drachm of opium, cut fine, mixed in a quart ot 
warm gruel. In all cases, give physic and laxative food 
when there is costiveness ; and when there is diarrhoea, 
check it gradually, avoiding extremes. 

Caution. All the litter about a sick animal should 
be burned, and all the cattle that die of the complaint 
should be buried five feet deep, to prevent the effluvia 
rising from the carcass and spreading the infection. 



216 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

Another Remedy. Mr. Brooks, of Princeton, whom 
we have already quoted, bleeds, in the first stages, till 
the animal falters, and, when diarrhoea prevails, gives 
one ounce of chloride of lime and one drachm of opium. 
To prevent constipation following, give bran mashes 
and other laxative food, and if this treatment does not 
prevent too sudden a check to the looseness, give two or 
three ounces of salts daily. Dissolve the opium in water 

Another. Make an infusion of half a pint of cedar 
berries in a quart of water, and give it as a drench. A 
considerable discharge from the bladder and bowels will 
follow and give relief, and a cure often follows. Id 
severe cases, it may be necessary to repeat the dose four 
or five times. 

Another. Boil half a pound of garget root, poke 
berry, (Phytolacca decandra,) in two quarts of water, to 
one quart, and pour it down when warm. Repeat once 
a day, till cured. It may be well to give this in two 
doses, with an interval of a few hours, as very power- 
ful decoctions have killed animals. 

Another. Melt one pint of fat ; add one gill of tur 
pentine and half a pound of sulphur. Stir till thin, ana 
turn it down the throat. 

Another. Bleed freely, in the first stages, and give 
a liberal supply of salt. 

Another. Give soot and salt. 

Another. It is said that a few doses of sugar, one 
pound each, have cured in severe cases. Give with a 
plenty of warm water. 

Murrain in Man. A man, in skinning a cow that 
died of the murrain, cut a little gash in his hand ; it 
swelled up immediately, and caused his death. Two 
pigs that ate the flesh of the cow died also. Another 
man, who assisted in skinning the cow, had a scratch 
or pimple on his hand, to which the matter was com- 
municated, and his situation became critical. 

In England, this disease is considered not merely an 
epidemic, but infectious ; this is the general opinion of 
veterinary surgeons throughout the country j conse- 
quently, the well cattle are separated from the affected. 
One gentleman caused the cows on his estate to be inoe 



NEAT CATTLE. 217 

ulated with the vaccine virus, (pus,) which appeared to 
operate as a preventive ; for although his neighbors' 
cows were dying around him, not one of his — seven in 
number — evinced the slightest symptoms of murrain. 

In Europe, this plague has prevailed occasionally for 
thousands of years, and frequently with great malignity. 
[n the spring of 1714, more than 70,000 cattle died of 
this disease in England. In 1715 it made a second sad 
visitation in Holland, and destroyed 200,000 cattle. In 
17 17, 40,000 in one county, and 30,000 in another county, 
m England, died of this pest, in one year. Last sum 
tai3r and fall it was very fatal in some parts of England 
and Scotland. Two cow-feeders in the vicinity of Glas- 
gow lost 500 cows. Some lost their entire stock. This 
disease originates from various causes ; the animals are 
variously affected, and, of course, the symptoms and 
remedies vary. Several disorders are classed under 
this general head. 

RED-WATER, OR BLOODY MURRAIN. 

This disease, in some respects, as to causes, symp- 
toms, nature, and remedies, resembles that last de- 
scribed, and they are, in some cases, evidently blended 
together. Red- water is of two kinds, acute and chronic. 
The causes are different ; they have their seat in differ- 
ent organs, and the symptoms and remedies vary. Yet 
some writers comfound and blend them together. 

ACUTE RED-WATER. 

Causes. Cows in too high condition are subject to 
this disease a week or two before calving, and, at other 
times, a few days after calving, when they have not been 
cleansed well, and have not had any purgative, which 
should always follow parturition in animals of high con- 
dition. Owing to the redundancy of blood, it is strongly 
determined to the womb, and the kidneys participate in 
this inflammation, and, by unusual secretions, throw off 
the redundant blood in the urine. It is also caused by 
external injuries, such as severe blows in the region of 
the kidneys, and violent bruises about the loins, from 
19 



218 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

the ramping of animals. The over-driving of oxen 
causes inflammation of the kidneys. It is sometimes 
caused by atmospheric influence, and by moist, swampy 
pasturage. 

Symptoms. The first evident symptom of this dis- 
ease is generally the discharge of bloody urine, but it is 
usually preceded by dysentery, which is changed to 
obstinate costiveness, and as soon as costiveness is 
established, red-water appears. Other symptoms are, 
feverishness, shivering, succeeded by increased heat, 
laborious breathing, dry muzzle, heaving at the flanks, 
ceasing to ruminate, bowed back, cold extremities, hot 
mouth, tenderness of the loins, straining to void urine, 
which is in small quantity and expelled by force, highly 
tinged with blood, and sometimes it is almost pure blood. 
It often runs its course with fearful rapidity. Sometimes 
the animal dies in a few days ; at other times, she con- 
tinues ten or twelve days. 

Treatment. Bleed or sweat very early. This will 
reduce the action on the kidneys. Then give physic. 
If the physic does not operate in due time, back-rake ; 
give clysters — exciting ones, if necessary ; repeat the 
physic in partial doses, of a different kind, if convenient, 
and give with it sage, pennyroyal, or other warming 
herb tea, and a little ginger. 

Another. Bleed or sweat, give six ounces of salts, 
one ounce of saltpetre, six ounces of linseed, castor or 
olive oil, in one pint of whey or gruel. 

CHRONIC RED-WATER. 

This is most common in cows of weak constitutions, 
and in calves. In its first stages, it is far more a dis- 
ease of the digestive organs than of the kidneys. The 
following causes are assigned : relaxed vessels ; thin 
blood ; cold ; change from poor to rich pasture j luxuri- 
ous pasture for cows recently dried, and scarcity of water 
in a long, dry summer. Some of these are only secondary 
causes, and there are doubtless various other primary 
causes, among which is the want of exercise. 

Symptoms. The urine is of a brown color, or brown 
tinged with yellow. The beast feeds nearly as well sr 



NEAT CATTLE. 219 

before, but ruminates more lazily. In lew days a natu- 
ral diarrhoea comes on, and then the animal is well 
again ; or a purgative is given, and a cure is soon 
effected. 

At other times the animal is dull, heavy and languid ; 
the ears droop, the back is bowed, she separates from the 
herd, refuses food, and ceases to ruminate. Again she 
is better, and then suddenly changes to worse ; the urine 
assumes a dark color, resembling foul coffee or porter ; 
it increases in quantity, and is sometimes discharged 
with difficulty and in little jets. The milk diminishes, 
and acquires a tinge of yellow or brown, and the taste is 
unpleasant. The pulse is accelerated to sixty or seventy 
beats a minute. The skin is yellow, but of a darker 
yellow than in jaundice ; it has a tinge of brown. The 
urine becomes of a darker hue, and is almost black. 
Sometimes the animal shrinks when the loins are 
pressed, but not usually, nor so much as in acute red- 
water. There is loss of condition and general debility, 
and the legs and ears are cold. In every stage there is 
costiveness very difficult to remove, yet generally there 
was violent diarrhoea at the beginning, which suddenly 
stopped. The dark color of the urine is caused by viti- 
ated bile, not by blood, as in acute red-water. 

An examination, after death, shows that the contents 
of the maryplus, or third stomach, are perfectly dry and 
almost as hard as though they had been baked. This 
is doubtless the disorder which many farmers call dry 
belly -ache ; and some call it dry murrain. The liver 
is inflamed, and darker than usual; the gall bladder is 
full to distention, and the bile is thick and black. These 
circumstances show that the seat of the disease is in the 
liver, and that the gall is obstructed in its passage to the 
intestines ; and indigestion is the result. 

Remedy. As in this disease constipation of the bowels 
is generally obstinate, back-rake, and give an exciting 
injection ; then give a good dose of physic, with ginger, 
or other stimulant, and if there be no operation in six or 
eight hours, repeat, in half doses, and continue mild 
injections occasionally, until an operation of the physic. 
'rive also warming teas, such as sage, peppermint,* &c. 



220 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

Feed on laxative food, and give astringents, as for jaun- 
dice, to restore the digestive organs to their usual tone 
and action. We think that ashes and cider would be 
excellent. [See pages 118 and 119.] Saltpetre, in doses 
of an ounce, is good. Change the food, and remove all 
cause of disease. Small doses of sulphur are good. 

Another. Take milk, and bring it to a curd with 
rennet ; mix it with ash leaves and nettle seeds chopped 
fine. G-ive it in food, or put it down the throat. 

Another. Give a junk bottle full of train oil. This 
is recommended for dry murrain. 

BLACK LEG, OR BLOOD. 

This disease is also called Quarter Evil, Black Quarter, 
raid Blood Striking. It is mostly confined to young cattle, 
between one and two years old. But some of three, 
four, and older, have been attacked with it. Cows giv- 
ing milk, and lean cattle, generally escape. It is most 
common in the spring or early summer, when the feed 
is luxuriant, and in the fall. 

Cause. Very high feed, by which the animal im- 
proves too fast, producing a redundancy of blood and 
powerful inflammation. It is most likely to attack ani- 
mals suddenly changed from poor to high feed. In 
England, it is sometimes produced in winter by high 
feeding on turnips. It prevails most in low, marshy 
pastures, and in woodlands. Fatigue and exhaustion 
from long journeys, previous to high feed, is a cause. 
Owing to the general use of highland pastures in this 
country, this disorder is not so common here as in Eu- 
rope. Acrimonious or poisonous plants and unfavora- 
ble atmosphere are influences, but are not the principal 
causes. 

Symptoms. Dry muzzle, hot breath, protruding eyes, 
extension of the head ; heaving of the flanks ; quick and 
hard pulse, and every symptom of high fever. He 
moans lowly ; is half unconscious ; wild ; stands for 
hours motionless, or only moves by compulsion ; there 
is a peculiar staggering in the hind limbs, and in one 
more than the other. He shifts his weight from one 



NEAT CATTLE. 221 

foot to the other ; paws, and lies down. He may rise, and 
then drop down again. Sometimes there is swelling on 
the back of the loins, over one quarter, which at first is 
hot, tender, and firm ; but it soon yields to the touch, and 
makes a crackling noise. One of the limbs enlarges, 
and sometimes enormously, through its whole extent. 
This limb is also first hot, tender, and firm, and then it 
becomes soft and flabby. Large ulcers break out on this 
limb, and become mortified, and large pieces slough off. 
The breath produces a horrible stench, and sometimes 
bloody fluid runs from the mouth ; the urine is high- 
colored or bloody, and the faeces are streaked with blood, 
and intolerable in stench. In so bad a state, the ani- 
imal generally dies suddenly ; but with early good treat- 
ment, some recover. 

Preventive. From what has been said of the 
causes, the management, in order to prevent this dis- 
ease, is very evident. When animals are in rich feed, 
and thriving too rapidly for health, a dose of physic, 
now and then, will be a good preventive. When this 
disease breaks out in a herd, physic, and remove to 
poorer feed, all the well cattle that have been exposed to 
the same causes. 

Remedy. If the disease be known on the first attack, 
bleed copiously. But do not bleed after it has advanced. 
Soon after bleeding, give physic, with ginger, or some 
aromatic. In case of constipation or other cause, if the 
physic does not operate, give injections, and repeat half 
doses of physic. After the physic operates, give a fever 
drink, morning and evening, as follows : — tartar 
emetic, one drachm ; powdered digitalis, half a drachm ; 
saltpetre, three drachms ; mix, and give in a quart of 
gruel. Or give a strong decoction of raspberry tea, two 
or three quarts, according to the size of the animal. 

At the first attack, foment the parts most affected, sev- 
eral times a day. Feed very lightly, on scalded bran 
mashes, &c. When the fever subsides, and the animal 
revives, omit the fever drink, unless it be mild, like the 
tea. Give, for awhile, mild tonics and loosening food. 
It would be well to put a seton in the dewlap, at the 
beginning, first rubbing it in blistering ointment ; and 
19* 



222 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

bathe the affected parts in warm vinegar, saturated with 
salt. If ulcers appear, apply chloride of lime in a poul- 
tice of roasted carrots. 

The Putrid Sore Throat is doubtless a variety of 
this disease, in which the throat is the part most severely 
attacked. In this case, in addition to the other treat- 
ment, apply to the throat internally some astringent 
wash, to allay the inflammation, and externally blister- 
ing ointment, to invite the blood outward. Give soft 
food, such as scalded mashes, and gruel ; and if the 
animal cannot drink, turn a little gruel down gently. 
Sometimes the sore throat may be regarded as belong- 
ing more properly to the bloody murrain, as it is at times 
a symptom of that disease. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. 

This disease is not common in cattle, excepting from 
eating poisonous or acrid plants, or when cows are near 
their calving. Sometimes there is an inflammation of 
the neck of the bladder, from cold, or from eating hot 
and stimulating plants, in pasture, (the broom, in Eng- 
land, often causes it,) which causes a stricture, and pre- 
vents the urine escaping. 

It is important to distinguish between inflammation 
of the neck of the bladder, and that of the bladder itself. 
When the neck is affected, no urine will be discharged 
in the early stage of the disease ; but when the bladder 
is inflamed, it will be discharged in large quantities, 
and more frequently than usual. And when at length, 
urine is voided, in case of inflammation of the neck of 
the bladder, it is after much straining, and forcibly 
squeezing it out from the closed but distended vessels. 
The most certain way to determine is to put the hand 
into the rectum, and if the neck of the bladder is affected 
so as to obstruct the passage of the urine, the distended 
bladder may be plainly felt under the hand. 

Remedy. If the neck of the bladder be inflamed, it 
must be relaxed, or there will be danger of the bladder's 
bursting. Sometimes, liberal bleeding will effect this. 
Then give sulphur, or other physic that has no diu- 
retic quality. Give injections into the anus, which 



NEAT CATTLE. 223 

may have a good effect from their being in the vicinity 
of the disease ; and fomentations should be used freely 
as nearly as possible to the part affected. If these' 
means fail, a cow could be relieved by a catheter ; but 
with the ox it is difficult, more so than in the horse, 
owing to the double curvature of the penis and urethra. 
It requires skill and experience. Some make a cut at 
the bend of the urethra, and introduce a catheter; but 
this wound is difficult to heal. The hand may be put 
into the fundament, and the urine gently pressed out. 

When the bladder itself is inflamed, which is more 
common, bleed, physic, foment across the loins, and 
carelully avoid diuretics. Clysters are good. After the 
operation of the physic, give the following: — Antimo- 
nial powder, two drachms ; powdered opium, one scru- 
ple : rul> them together with a small portion of thick 
gruel, and repeat morning and night. Sometimes the 
peculiar situation of cows near parturition causes an 
irritation of the bladder, which will cease after calving. 
[See pages 132 to 138, and for inflammation of the kid- 
neys, see page 217.] 

STUB COMPLAINT. 

A sandy substance collects in the sheath, where the 
water escapes, and the disease gives pain whenever the 
ox passes his water. Cleanse the part affected, with 
soap and warm water, and then apply a solution of 
sugar of lead, or alum, or a very strong decoction of 
raspberry leaves, or other astringent. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE SHAPE. 

Sometimes the external parts of a cow become in- 
flamed, and there is a discharge of glairy fluid, and 
occasionally pustules about them that break and dis- 
charge matter. This may occur from difficult calving, 
or from taking cold after easy and natural calving, it 
sometimes occurs at other times, from causes not weP 
known. The cow, in such cases, suffers greatly by the 
uritation. 



224 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

Remedy. In very severe cases, bleed or sweat, 
at first. Give physic, and if there be costiveness, 
give injections. Foment the shape several times a day, 
in a strong astringent tea, as beech bark, raspberry, or 
barberry, and continue it till the inflammation abates. 
In three or four days, it may be necessary to repeat the 
physic. Give light food, and protect from exposure. If 
gleet continue to run after the swelling has abated, and 
the ulcers healed, astringent injections into the parts 
affected will be useful. Vegetable astringents are more 
soothing than alum or other mineral preparations. 

BONE DISORDER. 

This disease has prevailed some ten or twenty years 
in some sections, and long before that time it existed in 
a milder form. It is common only to milch cows, and 
they recover on becoming dry. 

Cause. A want of bone earth, or phosphate of lime, 
and carbonate of lime, necessary to support the common 
wear or decay of the bones. Milch cows require so much 
of the phosphates as constituent parts of milk, that there 
is not enough to repair the gradual waste of the bones ; 
hence the weakness and disorder that ensues, which may 
be called the bone disease. This disease is common to 
old sections only, as, by a long course of cropping, the 
bone earth is exhausted, and those grasses and other 
food containing little bone earth only are produced. 

One hundred parts of bones contain thirty-eight parts 
of phosphate of lime, and ten parts of carbonate of lime ; 
and it has been ascertained that twenty gallons of milk 
contain one ounce of lime. Cows pastured constantly 
on land will carry off in their milk, one ton of bone 
earth from an acre, in seventy-five years ; hence a defi- 
ciency, and this disorder. 

Symptoms. Weakness in the bones ; falling in of the 
sides ; loss of appetite ; dulness ; general debility, and 
desire to eat bones when cows can have access to them. 

Preventives. On old lands use bone dust or ground 
bones, guano, lime, and plaster for manure, and then 
cultivate those grasses and plants generally, for cattle 



NfiAT CATTLE. 225 

food, which take up largely the bone earth, or phosphates, 
in such manures. Clover contains more lime than other 
grasses, and it readily takes it up from plaster. Oats 
contain more lime than other grain. Ruta-bagas abound 
in lime and phosphoric acid. Many pastures and mow- 
ing fields may be greatly and cheaply improved by plas- 
ter, and for many crops, especially on old lands, bones 
are a good manure. 

Remedy. Bone meal given in food, about a pint at a 
time. Some soften bones by soaking in a lye of wood 
ashes, and then give them to cows. Seven pounds of 
good sulphuric acid, diluted in two or three times the 
quantity of water, will dissolve a bushel of ground bones. 
Dilute half a pint of this in water, and sprinkle it on the 
fodder, or mix with meal or grain. Care should be 
taken that the bones used for medicine be pure, not filthy 
from putrid animal matter, as they may be unhealthy, 
and impart bad taste and impurities to milk. Chalk is 
good, as it is a carbonate of lime. Give it pounded, 
and mixed with food, or lay large pieces where cattle 
can lick them ; but consider that it is astringent, and 
use laxative food. During medical treatment, use, as 
an auxiliary, food that contains much lime, as clover, 
oats, potato tops, &c. 

TO TREVENT A COW SUCKING HERSELF. 

Put on a girth as tight as may be with comfort. Put 
straps or lines on each side the girth, and carry them % 
upon the sides of the neck, and fasten them on the sides 
of the head, to a strap. Put one strap around the lower 
part of the neck, and another near the upper part, and 
fasten these straps on each side to the straps that extend 
up from the girth, to keep all in their place. If well 
fitted, a cow cannot turn her head round far enough to 
help herself to milk. 



226' DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



KICKING AND REFRACTORY COWS. 

Place a kicking cow in a stall, with a beam over 
head ; fix a rope round her horns, throw it over the 
beam, and pull away till her head is pretty well ele- 
vated, but not so as to injure her. In this position she 
cannot kick, and will give down her milk. If a cow be 
refractory, tie her to some place so that you can rub her 
all over ; then salt her from your hand ; feed her from 
your hand, on half feed, and in three days you may do 
as you please with her. 

TO CAUSE A COW TO GIVE DOWN HER 
MILK. 

Sometimes cows refuse to give down their milk, for 
days together, from the loss of their calves, contrariness, 
or other cause. This is liable to injure their health 
Deal gently with them, and sit down and perform the 
operation upon the teats precisely as though the milk 
flowed. Persevere, and it will come after a while. In 
this way, a boy nine years old milked cows which others 
could not. It is doubtless an effort of the cow to hold 
up her milk, which soon tires, and she yields to nature 
after a short restraint. 

FOR COWS DRYING UP SUDDENLY. 

A cow that dried up suddenly produced a return of 
milk in a short time after administering an ounce of 
saltpetre in a quart of meal. Diuretics tend to a flow 
of milk. 

Another. Give to the cow, two or three mornings in 
succession, two cubic inches of garget root, [see page 
199,] cut up fine. It is said to be effectual. 

Another. Put a young calf to the cow ; and as an 
auxiliary to any other means that may be used, feed 
with grass, green corn, roots, apples, melons, pumpkins, » 
or other succulent food that tends to a flow of milk 



NEAT CATTLE. 227 



DRYING UP A COW. 

Pour two quarts of soft water on a fresh rennet bag ; 
ooil it down to one quart ; strain it, let it cool sufficiently 
and give it to the cow, and she will generally be dry in 
a few days. If she will not drink it, it may be turned 
down her throat. 

Another. Take an ounce of powdered alum, boil it 
in two quarts of milk till it tarns to whey ; then boil in 
this whey a large handful of sage, till it is reduced to 
one quart j rub the cow's udder with a little of it, and 
give her the rest to drink. First milk her clean, and 
afterwards draw a little milk every second day, lest the 
udder become overcharged. Repeat the dose and opera- 
tion if necessary. 

If the bag be full of milk, and it be hot and inflamed, 
milk her and repeat the astringent dose. 

PERFORATING COWS' DUGS. 

It sometimes happens that when cows calve their 
teats are hard and knotted, and the passage through 
them becomes impervious, and they consequently give 
no milk. 

Remedy. Make a small skewer of whalebone, or of 
smooth hard wood, anoint it with goose grease, or other 
soft grease, and force it up the dug ; take it out daily 
and anoint it, and do this till it heals round the skewer. 
This course is attended with success. 

ABORTION, OR SLINKING CALF. 

" This is most probably occasioned by tying up cattle 
and feeding them on bad hay or stale grain, and should, 
therefore, be prevented by pursuing a better method. 
Feeding on unwholesome food, with want of exercise, 
occasions indigestion and flatulency, and this probably 
so disturbs the young calf in the uterus, as to cause 
either abortion, or such an alteration in its position as 
to render delivery difficult, and often impracticable 



228 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

When a cow slips a calf, and anything offensive is left 
in the field, all pregnant cows smelling it are liable to 
the same. Everything that is of an offensive smell, 
especially putrid flesh or blood, should always be care- 
fully removed. In Gloucestershire, they suffer the cows 
to eat the afterbirth, and it is supposed to be useful." — 
White's Cattle Medicine. 

The cow is more subject to abortion than any other 
domestic animal. Besides the causes enumerated above, 
there are various others, and sometimes the cause is 
hard to trace. A very severe blow on any part of the 
body, or even a light blow on the nose, is liable to pro- 
duce it. Various diseases, that are incident to cattle, may 
cause it. Bad water is often a cause. A farm in Eng- 
land had been given up by three farmers, successively, 
on account of losses by abortion. The cattle drank of a 
stagnant pond, impregnated with dung and urine. Wells 
were then dug, the pond fenced up, and abortion disap- 
peared. Violent exertion, as well as the other extreme, 
inaction, is a cause. The extremes of starvation, and 
plethora from luxuriant pasture or high feeding, are 
causes ; also the extremes of exposure, and a close, hot 
stable. Anything that seriously affects the comfort 
or health of the animal may produce it. Sometimes it 
seems to be infectious, as when one cow in a herd mis- 
carries, others are soon affected, and it often runs nearly 
through the whole herd. In this case, it is supposed to 
be caused by the odor produced. [See page 44.] 

Cows are most liable to slink their calves about the 
middle period of gestation. If, about that time, a cow is 
uneasy, feverish, off her food, or wandering about for 
something for which she seems to have a longing, or 
most greedily and ravenously devouring some particular 
kind of food, she should be physicked immediately. Give 
a pound of Epsom salts, and half an ounce of powdered 
caraway seeds, or a table spoonful of ginger. Give warm 
drink till after the operation of the physic ; then give 
two to four quarts of raspberry tea, or other sedative 
and anodyne medicines, and feed moderately. 

Preventives. Attend to numerous directions given 
in this work for the preservation of health. Avoid aU 



NEAT CATTLE. 229 

extremes m feeding, exercise, heat and cold ; give pure 
food, water and air, and keep the bowels open by roots, 
bran, shorts and oil meal ; attend to currying and rub- 
bing ; manage with kindness, gentleness and discretion, 
or common sense. 

MANAGEMENT OF COWS BEFORE CALVING. 

Great evils may befall the cow which cannot be reme- 
died ; therefore prevent them. During the first of the 
season that the cow is going with young, she should be 
pretty well kept, for she has to provide nourishment for 
her young, and a supply of milk for the dairy ; yet the 
feed should not be very high ; she should be kept only in 
gooci condition. 

It is better for the calf, and it is generally better for 
the cow, as she needs a little respite to recruit her, and 
it is better for the udder, that she go dry as long as six 
or eight weeks ; and during a short period previous to 
calving, the milk is of an unnatural taste, and inferior 
quality. Many cows go dry longer, even three, four or 
five months. Three months is not an unusual time, and 
there can be no great objection to it, when milk is not 
much wanted in the family. But if a cow goes dry a 
long time, she is more liable to indurations and other 
affections of the udder. 

If she is kept pretty well before going dry, her feed 
should then be reduced, or it should be less rich ; for 
being too fat and full of blood at the time of calving, is 
frequently the cause of difficult labor, garget, milk fever, 
and sometimes death. High feeding and con sequent 
plethora is worse than starvation and its concomitant 
poverty. 

After the cow is dry, she should not have man) 7, roots, 
apples, pumpkins, or any food that produces a large flow 
of milk, lest the bag become too much distended before 
calving, and the udders become indurated or caked, and 
garget and other diseases follow in their train. But feed 
a very few roots, as they tend to keep the bowels open, 
and are conducive to general health. The best are car- 
rots, as they tend to keep up a prettv good condition, and 



230 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

causeless now to the lacteal secretions j and the rich* 
ness of the carrot, as to causing too high condition, can 
be counteracted, if necessary, by moderate keeping in 
other food. 

Wheat bran, or shorts, is a very good light laxative 
food, and may be given without fostering too high, or 
tending much to milk. Some straw, of a pure quality, 
may be given, when the cow is becoming too fleshy 
on hay. When at grass, if she is becoming fat, put 
her into a pasture where the feed is not very luxuriant. 
But give tolerably good keep. 

It is better for cows to calve without a very full udder ; 
yet with precaution, and especially when they calve in 
summer, amidst full feed, their udders become distended 
almost to bursting before calving. In such cases, the 
cow should be milked, and she should be pretty well fed, 
m order to sustain this unusual draught and her young 
at the same time ; but the food should be dry, and such 
as does not produce much milk. Be careful and not 
produce costiveness by too much dry food, but give 
shorts, &c. 

MILKING COWS BEFORE CALVING. 

Sometimes, from high feeding, or from rich pasturage, 
heifers and cows have their udders so distended with 
milk before calving, that there is much pain and great 
clanger of matter forming in them, and causing them to 
break. Therefore, it sometimes becomes necessary- to 
milk them before calving. When running in luxuriant 
pastures, and they calve in summer, it is often necessary 
to milk them a few days, and occasionally a week or 
ten days, before calving. Sometimes it has become 
necessary to milk a cow regularly two or three weeks 
before calving, and no injury seemed to result from it. 

It is stated in the "Tennessee Agriculturist," that a 
Durham heifer was affected in this way previous to her 
having the first calf. It commenced nearly three months 
before calving, and it gradually increased for about two 
months, when the udder was enormously swollen and 
inflamed. She was then milked, and gave sixteen 01 



NEAT CATTLE. 231 

eighteen quarts a day until she calved. The calf found 
the udder in a fine condition. 

MANAGEMENT AT CALVING. 

A short time before calving, turn the cow loose into 
a pen or room by herself, that is level and dry. She 
should be seen to frequently, but in such a way that she 
shall not think that she is watched, as in such cases ani- 
mals seek retirement. We copy the following from 
Clater, the distinguished English veterinarian : 

"The usual symptoms of the approach of calving are 
uneasiness, slight lifting of the tail, lying down and 
getting up, the evident labor-throe, gentle at first, and 
increasing in force, and the commencement of the pro- 
trusion of the membranes from her shape. The still 
earlier symptoms, and preceding the labor by a few 
days, are enlargement of the udder, and redness of the 
space between her shape and the udder. 

"The labor having actually commenced, the mem- 
branes will more and more protrude, until they break, 
and the fluid by which the calf was surrounded will 
escape. If her pains are strong, the cow should for a 
while be scarcely meddled with ; but if an hour or more 
elapses, and no portion of the calf presents itself, the 
hand, well greased, should be introduced, in order to 
ascertain the situation and position of the calf. The 
natural position is with the fore feet presenting, and the 
muzzle lying upon the fore legs. If the foetus is found 
in this position, and advanced into the passage, some 
time longer should be allowed to see what nature will 
do ; and the strength of the animal may, if necessary, 
be supported by some gruel, with which a pint of warm 
ale has been mixed, being horned down. As soon, how- 
ever, as the throes begin to weaken, and before that, it 
no progress has been made, manual assistance must be 
rendered. 

" Here it will be recollected that there are two objects 
to be accomplished, — the saving of the lives of both the 
mother and the young one, — and that, consequently, the 
means at first employed should be gentle. The hand 



232 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

should be introduced, and the fore legs of the calf laid 
bold of and drawn down, the efforts of the operator being 
employed at the moment of the throes of the mother. If 
the legs are brought forward a little way, care should be 
taken that the head is accompanying them. The hand 
will sometimes be sufficient for this purpose. If the 
head cannot be moved by the hand, a cord must be pro- 
cured with a slip-knot at the end, which is to be passed 
carefully into the passage, and, the mouth of the young 
animal being opened, fastened round his lower jaw. 
The end of this must be given to an assistant, who 
should be instructed to pull gently, but firmly, at the 
moment of the throes, while the principal operator is 
endeavoring to draw on the feet. 

" Should not this succeed, it will appear that, either 
from the narrowness of the pelvis, or the size of the 
foetus, there will be difficulty and danger in accomplish- 
ing its extraction. The operator must then begin to 
think less of the safety of the calf, and endeavor to 
secure that of the mother. Two other large cords or 
ropes must be procured, and one fastened round each 
leg. The service of two assistants will now be required. 
One should pull at the head, and the other at the feet, 
while the operator ascertains the progress that is made j 
too much force, however, should not immediately be 
used, for the chance of saving the young one must not 
yet be given up. This not succeeding, greater power 
must be applied, until the assistants begin to use their 
full strength, pulling steadily, and with the pains of the 
cow, if they still continue. 

" In the natural position of the calf, the young one is 
almost uniformly extracted by these means, and its life 
is preserved 5 for both the mother and her progeny will, 
without serious injury, bear the employment of more 
force than would by some be thought credible. When 
the womb is unable to discharge its contents, and the 
throes are diminishing, or perhaps ceasing, much benefit 
may be derived from the administration of the ergot of 
rye, which appears to act as a stimulus specifically on 
the uterus ; two drachms of this medicine, finely pow- 
dered, may be given in a pint of ale, and repeated seve 



NEAT CATTLE. 233 

ral times, if required, with intervals from half an hour 
10 an hour. 

" The foetus is not, however, always presented natu- 
rally, and it is the duty of the operator to ascertain its 
exact position in the womb. This he will not find much 
difficulty in accomplishing. 

"The most usual false position is the presentation of 
the head, while the feet of the calf are bent and doubled 
down under his belly, and remain in the womb. A cord 
must be passed as before around the lower jaw, which is 
then to be pushed back into the womb. The operator 
now introduces his hand, and endeavors to feel the situ- 
ation of the feet. He is generally able to find them out, 
and to fix a cord round each pastern, or at least about the 
knee, and then he can usually bring them into the pas- 
sage. The head is next to be brought forward again by 
means of the cord ; and, the three cords being afterwards 
pulled together, the foetus is extracted. Should the calf 
have been long fixed in the passage, and be evidently 
much SAvelled.it is certainly dead ; the head may then 
be opened, in order to lessen its bulk, and the extraction 
accomplished as before. 

•• When the feet present, and the head is doubled under 
the rim of the passage, the case is more difficult, and 
the calf is very rarely saved ; indeed, it may be reckoned 
to be dead if it has remained in this position for any 
considerable time. Cords are first to be placed round 
the feet ; the hand must be afterwards passed into the 
womb, and the situation of the head exactly ascertained, 
and the cord passed round the lower jaw. The calf be- 
ing then pushed further back into the womb, the head 
must be brought into the passage, and, the three ropes 
being pulled together, the delivery effected as quickly as 
may be, without the exertion of more force than is neces- 
sary. 

" The last false presentation I shall mention is that of 
the breech, the tail appearing at the mcuth of the shape. 
The hand is to be passed into the uterus, and the cords 
fastened round each hock. The calf is then to be pushed 
as far back as possible into the womb, and the hocks, 
one alter the other, brought into the passage, the ropes 
20* 



234 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

being shifted as soon as possible to the fetlock. With 
the exertion of considerable force, the calf may now be 
extracted, and sometimes without serious injury. 

" By studying these cases, the operator will be enabled 
to adapt his measures to every case of false presenta- 
tion ; and they are numerous. Great force must some- 
times be used to effect the extraction of the calf. The 
united efforts of five or six men have been employed, 
and (although such practice can scarcely be defended in 
any case) a horse has sometimes been attached to the 
cords. The foetus has been necessarily destroyed, but 
the mother has survived ; too often, however, she has 
evidently fallen a victim to this unnecessary violence. 
If by the united force of two or three men, the icetus 
cannot be brought away, any ruder and more violent 
attempt must always be fraught with danger, and will 
often be fatal. The safer way for the mother, — yet that 
is attended with considerable risk, — is to cut off some 
of the limbs of the foetus. One or possibly both shoul- 
ders may be separated, slipped, and then the head and 
trunk may, without much difficulty, be brought away. 
The knife must be one that can be concealed in the 
hand, and that is hooked at the end, and rounded and 
thick at the back; but, notwithstanding that, there is 
much danger of wounding the womb, which is forcibly 
pressing on the hand of the operator. 

" Labor is not unfrequently prevented by the diseased 
state of the entrance or neck of the womb, which be- 
comes hard and scirrhous, and thus prevents the calf 
escaping. When this is found, by examination, to be 
the case, an operation should be performed, which con- 
sists in dividing the contracted entrance by means of a 
small knife passed up, protected by the hand and fingers. 
Considerable care must be exercised, so as not to cut too 
deeply ; and it is better to divide the stricture slightly in 
several places. 

" From the violent efforts of the cow, or from unneces- 
sary artificial violence, the uterus, or calf-bed, may 
protrude, and be absolutely inverted.* The case is not 

* Falling of the withers is a general term among farmers to denote 
this condition. The womb is protruded and completely turned inside 



NEAT CATTLE. 235 

desperate. The part must be cleaned from blood and 
dirt, and supported by a sheet ; then, the operator begin- 
ning at the very fundus or bottom of the womb, it may 
be gradually returned by the union of some little inge- 
nuity and a great deal of patience. The animal should 
be copiously bled before this is attempted, in order to 
relax the passage ; and the application of cold water for 
a considerable time may contract the womb itself, and 
render its return more easy. A stitch or a couple of 
stitches should be passed through the lips of the shape, 
in order to prevent a repetition of the protrusion, and 
the following anodyne draught administered: — Take 
powdered opium, half a drachm ; sweet spirits of nitre, 
two ounces. Rub them together, adding the tluid by 
small quantities at a time, and give the mixture in a 
pint of warm gruel. 

•• If the cow has calved unseen and unattended, she 
will, like every other quadruped, set diligently to work 
to devour the cleansing, and lick the new-born animal 
clean. This, however, is often carefully prevented when 
there is the opportunity of so doing. The calf is taken 
immediately away, and the cleansing thrown on the 
dung-heap. We act contrary to nature in this. She 
would not have given to herbivorous animals this pro- 
pensity to eat the placenta, had not some useful purpose 
been affected by it. Cleanliness was one object, the next 
was either to support the strength of the animal, or to 
have an aperient or salutary influence on her. The 



out. In returning it, the fist is applied to the extreme outer or lower 
part, as you would apply the hand outwardly to the toe of a stocking 
that is ittsifJe out. to turn it outside in. The protruded parts should 
be cleansed in warm water; and if they have been out long, and be- 
ccme inrlamei. as is sometimes the case, from neglect, foment them 
some time in a warm decoction of raspberry leaves, or of white oak, 
beech, yellow birch, black cherry, barberry, sweet apple-tree bark, or 
other astringent. The operator should perform very gently in return- 
ing the withers, and having done this, and taken a stitch of strong 
twine across the vulva, the application of cold water will produce a 
contraction of the parts. Then place the cow with her fore feet the 
lowest, and so that she cannot lie down for a day. Give gentle physic 
of thorough wort tea. or salts, and gentle astringents to allay inflamma- 
tion, as raspberry tea. <fcc It would be well to let the cow go farrow 
cne year, that the parts may become firm. 



236 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

mother and the young will be happier if they are left to 
pursue the dictates of nature. Many a cow has fretted 
herself into a fatal fever from the sudden loss of her little 
one, and many a calf has died from the neglect of that 
cleanliness which the mother could best effect. 

" A great deal has been said of the necessity of cleans- 
ing the cow after calving, or the removal or expulsion of 
the placenta. There is much error in this. The pla- 
centa comes away with the calf ; # and it is that natural 
discharge from the womb, continued during several days, 
and which is observed to a greater or less extent in all 
quadrupeds, that gives the notion of anything being re- 
tained. Medicine, nevertheless, is necessary in order to 
prevent that access of fever to which the cow in high 
condition is liable ; but that medicine should be admin- 
istered, not in the form of a stimulating cordial, from the 
false supposition that the animal wants support after the 
fatigue and pain it has undergone, but in that of a pur- 
gative, in order to prevent an attack of fever, to which 
the animal is so naturally exposed after parturition, and 
which is so often hastened and aggravated by absurd 
management. The mother requires little care after calv- 
ing, except that of protection from too great severity of 
weather.' 7 

* This remark is not correct. The placenta or " clearings " gener- 
ally come away soon after the calf: but sometimes, owing to a con- 
traction of the neck of the womb, or the placenta adhering to the 
inner surface of the womb, it does not readily come away; and it 
soon acts as a foreign body, producing irritation and fever; audit 
will rapidly become putrid and noisome. Yet, in some cases, it has 
been retained seven or eight days, without serious injury. In these 
difficult cases, give no powerful stimulants. Give a dose of thorough- 
wort tea, or one pound of Epsom salts, with two drachms of ginger in 
addition to either dose, a few hours after calving, which will have a 
favorable effect in this particular, as well as on the general health of 
the animal. [See next page.] Some tie a weight of six or eight 
ounces to the cord, the action of which may separate the placenta 
from its adhesions. 

Sometimes it adheres so firmly to the surface of the womb that it 
is retained till it becomes putrid, and the hand must be introduced to 
separate it in the gentlest manner possible, else dangerous inflamma- 
tion will follow. Sometimes, when there is an inversion of the womb, 
or '■' falling of the withers," the placenta is found adhering closely to 
the then outer part of the womb, and should be very gently separated, 
before the womb is returned. 



NEAT CATTLE. 237 



MANAGEMENT AFTER CALVING. 

"We give separate articles on the important subjects of 
the Placenta and Biestings. Be careful and not give 
cold water after calving. The following is excellent : 
Throw a few embers into a pailful of water. This will 
warm the water, and the slight alkaline quality will be 
good. It is much better to give warm water for several 
days. If a cow be in a high condition, or tolerably high, 
it is best to give a dose of mild physic. To guard against 
fever and garget, it would be well, in all cases, to give 
a gentle laxative. For a few days feed lightly. Warm 
mashes are excellent. Do not feed largely, even on hay, 
but if she be greedy after food, give some good straw. 
If a cow be weak and exhausted, after calving, give 
herb drinks, as warm as can be borne, and warm gruel, 
for nourishment. Thoroughwort tea is excellent, as it 
serves as a stomachic to warm and strengthen the 
bowels, and as a good physic. If the cow be weak, do 
not give a strong dose of physic, yet a large quantity of 
tea will have a favorable effect. Dr. Holmes, whose 
excellent authority we have occasionally quoted, informs 
us that he had a heifer that was exhausted in her efforts 
in giving birth to her young. She was cold in the ex- 
tremities, and unable to stand. He gave her a gallon 
of thoroughwort tea, as hot as she could bear. In a few 
minutes she revived, rose up, and immediately dis- 
charged the afterbirth, or placenta. This immediate 
effect was owing to the heat in the liquor. 

When a cow is so exhausted that she cannot rise, she 
must be assisted in rising, and moving round a little, if 
possible, or fastened up awhile, by sacking or wide straps, 
else she will soon lose the use of her limbs. Cows that 
calve in March, or during cool weather in April, often 
suffer by standing out exposed to cold winds, and still 
more when standing in deep mire or manure. Kind and 
gentle treatment, and great care and attention, are ne- 
cessary at this critical period ; and well does this highly 
useful and bounteous animal deserve these favors from 
those whom she nourishes and supports, and their chil- 



238 . DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

dren also. Her rich treasures are divided between them 
and her own offspring. 

COWS EATING THE PLACENTA. 

The general practice in this country, in New England 
at least, is to prevent cows from eating the placenta, 
after-birth, or cleanings ; but some intelligent managers 
of stock allow cows to eat it, and this is the general 
custom in England j and, as it is in accordance with 
nature, the vigilance of man cannot always prevent it. 
We have known many instances of cows eating the 
after-birth, and never had reason to suppose that any 
injury arose from their following the dictates of nature. 
It is supposed to have some salutary medicinal effect. 
Some apprehend danger from cows choking themselves 
in this way ; but we have no account of an instance of 
the kind, and it has been remarked that there is no more 
danger of this than of a tobacco-chewer getting choked 
with his quid. 

GIVING COWS BIESTINGS. 

Numerous cases are mentioned in which cows have 
been injured by drinking biestings, or first-drawn milk 
after the calf has sucked, especially when they gave a 
large mess. In some cases it has proved fatal. In one 
case an examination was made, and the milk was in the 
manifold ; "it had shut those parts close together, so 
that nothing could pass." Giving a cow her milk is 
unnatural, and it is very rich food for an animal in a 
weak and delicate condition. 

Lovett Peters, Esq., of Westborough, a farmer of long 
experience and nice observation, offered to the public, 
through the "Massachusetts Ploughman," several arti- 
cles against giving cows biestings ; he was supported by 
a number of farmers, who showed its injurious effects 
On the contrary, several intelligent farmers gave in- 
stances of cows drinking biestings without injury. The 
s»*er way is to avoid this unnatural course. 



NEAT CATTLE. 239 



SORE TEATS AND UDDERS. 

Sometimes, before calving, and more frequently after, 
the teats and udders are swollen and sore, otherwise 
than the internal inflammation called garget. 

Remedy. Foment the parts affected with warm water, 
or warm soap suds, and in severe cases foment long and 
often with some astringent tea, as beech, barberry, or 
raspberry. Or use one of the last two recipes on page 
53. After the parts are dry, apply a cooling ointment. 

MILK FEVER, OR DROPPING AFTER CALVING. 

This disease is most common to cows in high con- 
dition, and in the hot season. The cows that have 
large, full udders some time before calving, are most 
liable to be attacked with this disease. It generally 
appears about the second or third day after calving; 
occasionally she is down a few days after calving, and 
is seldom able to rise for several days. 

Symptoms. Refusing food; looking dull and heavy ; 
restlessness ; lowing ; nose dry and hot ; tongue fre- 
quently protruded ; eyes wild and staring ; the udder 
swelled and inflamed ; the secretions of milk suspended ; 
weakness ; staggering ; heaving of the flanks • weak- 
ness of the loins, and every symptom of fever. Palsy 
soon steals over the whole frame, and she falls. 

Treatment. Bleed freely, and give a pound of Epsom 
salts, and give aromatics, such as ginger or herb teas. 
Half an ounce of saltpetre and a pint of linseed oil are 
good to give with the salts. If there be much fever, 
treat as for that complaint, and feed with mashes, and 
light food generally. Get her up as soon as possible. 

GARGET. 

This disorder attacks the udders of cows, particularly 
young ones after their first calving, or cows in high con- 
dition. The internal part of the udder becomes inflamed, 
generally in one part at first, but if not relieved, it often 



24C DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

extends to the whole bag; it becomes tender, much 
swelled, and feels hard and knotty. The milk coagu- 
lates, and is drawn off in thick masses, often bloody. 

Causes. Too high feeding ; allowing the cow to go 
dry too long ; not drawing off the milk when the bag 
becomes full before calving ; humors in the system that 
collect at this tender place ; and taking cold. 

Preventives. Mr. Fisher, of the State of New York, 
in his prize essay on dairying, in the " Albany Cultiva- 
tor," recommends giving each cow, while dry and with 
calf, a table spoonful of sulphur weekly, to prevent gar- 
get j and Mr. Jenne says, in the "Maine Farmer," that 
he has used it with satisfaction ; and he names, several 
cases in which this disease was not produced by a great 
flow of milk, but indurations or cakes in the bag. Put 
tar on the noses of cows, and on their heads, between 
the horns, in March and April. 

Remedy. In very severe cases, the surest and most 
speedy remedy is bleeding and physicking, giving light 
food and cooling drinks. This has an immediate effect. 

Another. Many farmers in New England cure with 
the root of garget, or pokeweed, (Phytolacca decandra.) 
In mild cases, it is sufficient to give cows some in their 
food ; and, in severe cases, a piece of this root is put in 
the dewlap, as a seton. In bad cases it is too slow. 

Another. Give saltpetre. An ounce is a common 
dose, but, in severe cases, two ounces have been given. 

Another. The " Genesee Farmer" says, a dairyman 
cured two bad cases, in which the milk was clotted, 
stringy and bloody, by bathing the udder a few times in 
a strong decoction of arse-smart, or smart weed. 

Another. Tobacco, cut fine, and simmered in urine ; 
then stir in pure clay, and apply to the udder. 

Another. Foment the bag with warm soap suds 
vinegar and spirits. If it will break, apply poultices. 

TO CAUSE A COW TO GO WITH YOUNG. 

Cows and heifers are not always with young in sea 
son. Poor keeping is one cause. Feed nourishing food ; 
give rye meal, oat meal, or oil meal ; prefer rye. This 
cordial is good: — Caraway seeds, one ounce; geatian 



NEAT CATTLE. 241 

half an ounce ; ginger, half an ounce ; and twenty drops 
of peppermint ; mix in gruel or water. Avoid cantharides 

and all powerful stimulants, as dangerous. A further aid 
is running alone with the bull. She may be in loo high 
condition ; then give gentle physic, moderate feed, and 
reduce gradually. She may be barren, though often in 
season, and taken to the male. The excitemerft may be 
insufficient ; then feed better, as abo^e ; or it may be too 
great ; then let her take the male towards the close of her 
season, when it is abating. Bleeding freely is good. A 
heifer was driven often without effect. Then, on taking 
the male, twelve or fifteen pailfuls of cold water were 
poured on her immediately. It succeeded. It was a 
single case, but seems founded on philosophv. Drive 
the cow from the male immediately, not allowing her to 
stop to dung or urinate, nor to come near other animals, 
till her season is past. When in season, give her milk 
to the pigs. 

BROKEN HORNS. 

Joseph Frost, Esq., of Elliot, Me., says, in the " Boston 
Cultivator:" "We see cattle with broken horns, which 
may be easily replaced, if proper means are seasonably 
adopted. We had a cow that broke her horn j it came 
off by the hair, and the core or pith of the horn came off 
about three inches from the head. We replaced the 
horn, and tarred a strip of cotton cloth, and wound it 
around the horn by the head, and then corded and stayed 
the lame horn to the well one. It grew on and remained. 

•'We have a cow that broke her horn two years ago, 
and it was free from the head an hour. W T e replaced it, 
and the horn shows no appearance of having been in- 
jured. When cattle have their horns broken down, or 
what farmers generally call droop horns, they may be 
replaced, and lixed properly by an iron, shaped in the 
natural position of the horn, and fastened to the head 
and well horn. The tarred bandage should be applied 
to the wound. In all cases the animal should be placed 
in a situation to prevent the lame horn coming in con- 
tact with amahing." 

21 



SHEEP. 

The engraving on the left represents a group of Me- 
rino sheep, a specimen of the prize flock of S. W. Jewett, 
Esq., of Weybridge, Vt. The Merinos are distinguished 
for fine wool, and for that purpose they are kept fa** 
more extensively than any other breed in the country. 

TO KNOW THE AGE OF SHEEP. 

The age of sheep may be known by the front teeth. 
They are eight in number, and appear the first year, all 
of a small size. In the second year, the two middle 
ones fall out, and their place is supplied by new teeth, 
which may be easily distinguished by their larger size. 
In the third year, two other small teeth, one on each 
side, fall out, and are replaced by two larger ones ; so 
that there are now four large teeth in the middle, and 
two pointed ones on each side. In the fourth year, the 
large teeth are six in number, and only two small ones 
remain, one at each end of the range. In the fifth year, 
the remaining small teeth are lost, and the whole front 
teeth are large. In the sixth year, the whole begin to 
be worn ; and in the seventh year, sometimes sooner, 
some fall out, or are broken. It is said that the teeth of 
ewes begin to decay at five or six ; those of wethers at 
seven, and those of rams at eight. 

Sheep sometimes continue strong and productive until 
fourteen or sixteen years old, and occasionally longer. 
When a boy, we had under our care a very smart old 
sheep, that invariably brought and raised two lambs 
every year, until fifteen years old. 

GENERAL MANAGEMENT 

Almost all the disorders incident to sheep are caused 
by a want, and seldom by an excess, of activity in the 
vital organs. The nerves are very susceptible, but 
when they are powerfully excited, the excitement soor 



244 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

passes off, and leaves the animal extremely weak, 
Therefore, most of the means used for the cure of dis- 
eases of sheep should be calculated to excite, rather than 
allay, the activity of the functions of life. 

During summer, give them a good supply of salt, and 
occasionally some tar • and if they do not have access to 
burnt lands, give them wood ashes mixed with their salt, 
of four or five parts of the former to one of the latter. 
Sheep running on freshly burnt lands are generally re- 
markably healthy. The coal and ashes are specifics 
against several disorders, and they will go far to get to 
such places. 

As to sheep wanting water in summer, the question is 
not wholly settled. We have a number of cases in 
which they have succeeded remarkably well without 
water ; and we have kept sheep in a pasture in which 
there was but one spring in a dry time, and we never 
saw their tracks around it, and though we have worked 
in sight of it many a day, for years and years, yet we 
never saw a sheep drink there. Yet some say that 
sheep need water in summer. The majority of evi- 
dence seems to show that they will do well without it. 

Carefully select the best sheep to keep, though the 
butcher offers a high price for them. One good sheep 
for breeding is worth more than half a dozen poor ones ; 
otherwise the poor ones are worth nothing, and the value 
of the best is seldom estimated. 

Wean lambs in season, as it will benefit themselves 
and their dams. They will get accustomed .to the 
change, while on green food, and their mothers will have 
a chance to gain flesh against the coming winter. 
Early in fall, examine the flock, and select for fattening 
such as are not fit to winter. When a sheep is once 
very fat, she should be slaughtered, as she will not prob- 
ably be in so fine a condition again. 

When sheep are brought to the barn in the winter, 
smear their noses well with tar ; it tends to keep them 
in good health, and prevent their taking disorders. 

As sheep suffer from being kept long from the ground, 
it is best to let them run out late in fall, or early in win- 
ter, while they can get a good support ; but they should 



SHEEP. 245 

Do fed from the barn before feed is so scarce that they 
fall away for want of a supply. If they lose condition 
before housing, they will hardly recover in the winter, 
without extra keeping, and the consequence will be the 
loss of lambs, or a stinted race ; loss of wool, and a poor 
article, and perhaps a loss of sheep. It is an important 
hinge, on which much turns. 

Sheep suffer in our long winters for want of green 
food. Give them roots of various kinds, such as pota- 
toes, carrots, beets, parsnips, and turnips. For a month 
or so before yearing, they should not have roots, or only a 
few, as they will produce a premature flow of milk, and 
cause it to cake in the bag. At this time, they may 
have a very few roots, to keep the bowels open, and pre- 
vent their faltering for want of access to the ground. 
Carrots are best, as they do not produce so large a flow 
of milk as other roots, but tend in part to keep up the 
condition. Do not feed too high before the yearing sea- 
son. See remarks on the management of cows before 
calving. The same apply to sheep. 

Give sheep, in winter, as condiments, salt, wood ashes, 
clay, and pure earth. Give them also as salutary or 
medicinal food, cedar, pine, spruce, hemlock, fir, and 
other boughs. [See Browse, page 249.] And by all 
means give them a good supply of pure water. As they 
eat dry fodder, they will drink often and freely. They 
cannot satisfy their thirst by eating snow, any more than 
a man can by devouring snow or sucking an icicle. We 
have kept sheep and cattle about the same distance from 
vvater, say seven rods, and the sheep would go and drink 
twice as often as the cattle. They would not eat more 
than half an hour in the morning, before they would all 
run and drink. They will go a considerable distance 
for this purpose, if kindly invited at first, by a lock of 
hay, or something else to entice them, instead of fright- 
ening them with dogs and noisy boys, in the vain at- 
tempt to drive them. 

3lr. Thomas Noble says, in the Ohio Cultivator, 
"My sheep consist of sixteen hundred head, and so far, 
1 have lost none. We cut all their feed, and the saving 
thereby is at least one third." 
21* 



246 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

When sheep have been long from the ground, they 
will often do as well to let them out in spring as soon as 
the ground is bare, feeding them also with the best of 
hay, and with roots and provender. 

Clover hay is the best for sheep ; we have known 
flocks to do well and raise fine early lambs, when theii 
feed during winter has been nothing but excellent clo- 
ver hay, and pure water, to which they had access in 
the yard. 

TREATMENT OF SHEEP AFTER SHEARING. 

A correspondent of the Albany Cultivator says : — 
"There is nothing that conduces to the health and com- 
fort of sheep more than a clean skin; any application 
that has that tendency will be of service ; anything to 
the contrary must injure them, and the growth and qual- 
ity of their wool, in a greater or less degree. Smearing 
of any kind is injurious, particularly so after shearing, 
when the wool is short ; it stops the pores, checks the 
growth of the wool, and leaves it dry and brittle, far into 
the season. If, when sheep are sheared, there is a large 
hogshead of very strong brine made, and as the sheep 
are shorn they are taken to it, and while one man holds 
the sheep, another takes a strong scrubbing brush, and 
after pouring some of the brine along the back and 
shoulders, he scrubs the sheep well all over, until he 
raises a lather as with soap ; nothing more is necessary 
The skin will be left bright, red, and clean. Every tick 
and sheep louse instantly disappears, and if the skin had 
any tendency to itch, it is entirely cured ; perspiration is 
promoted and the growth of the wool improved. In this 
way, I think that the general strength of the sheep, to 
withstand the effects of any storm, will be better pro- 
moted than by smearing of any kind, which is never 
admissible. 



SHEEP. 247 



LAMBS. 

Young lambs require particular attention. If the 
weather should be cold or stormy, they should be in a 
dry, warm place, yet pretty well ventilated. If there be 
wool around the sheep's bag, in the way of the lamb 
when sucking, cut it off. Sometimes lambs are so feeble 
soon after they are born, that they cannot suck without 
assistance, or they are so weak or stupid that they will 
make no effectual exertion to help themselves. In such 
cases it often becomes necessary to press out the biest- 
tn the teat, as the lamb has not strength to draw 
out the thick matter ; then he may suck ; if not, lay the 
sheep on her side, and put the teat into his mouth, and 
if he will not draw the milk, press it out into his mouth, 
and he will soon learn to suck. 

Some young sheep will not own their lambs, or own- 
ing them, they will not stand still and allow them to 
suck, owing to their ignorance, or the tenderness of their 
; and attention is necessary, else the lamb will be 
lost. Some lambs are troubled in cutting their teeth, 
an J cannot suck well for soreness of the gums. In such 
cases, rub hard the swelled gums with the thumb-nail, 
or other hard, smooth substance, which will promote 
teething. 

Some sheep, old as well as young, will not own their 
lambs, so as to allow them to suck at all ; this is a very 
troublesome case, and sometimes difficult to remedy. 
Bringing a dog near the lamb may have some effect, as 
she may be disposed to protect her lamb, and fight 
bravely in its defence. If she persist in her unnatural 
course, hold her often, and let the lamb suck ; he will 
soon learn to run to his mother for this purpose, as soon 
as his kind assistant appears. Let him suck as often 
as morning, noon, evening, and at night, just before 
bedtime ; in this way, sheep will often own their lambs, 
sometimes in one week, and again not till after two or 
three weeks. 

If a single lamb die, and another sheep will not own 
her lamb, or another sheep has twins, skin the dead 



248 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

lamb before it is stiff, if con venient, and put the skin on 
the lamb you would have the lambless sheep own. When 
a boy, and we had the care of sheep, one brought three 
lambs ; at that time a single lamb died, and we put the 
skin on one of these thrices, and the poor childless sheep 
owned it. By holding a sheep that had some time be- 
fore lost her lamb, the other two sucked her, occasion- 
ally, but she did not own them until turned out, in the 
spring. But after they had been out a few days, we 
noticed that the three lambs were carefully cared for, 
each having a mother exclusively. 

When the excrements of a lamb are so glutinous as 
to fasten the tail to the vent, it must be washed clean, 
and the tail and buttocks should be rubbed with pow- 
dered clay or loam, and give some mild remedy, as 
recommended for scours. When you give a lamb cow's 
milk, use that of a new milch cow. 

WOOL IN THE STOMACHS OF LAMBS. 

Sometimes lambs die in consequence of little balls of 
wool in the stomach, matted together into a hard sub- 
stance, and sometimes closing the entrance into the guts. 
Lambs are most affected in this way when they are from 
three to six weeks old. Most that are affected die, and 
among the number are the fattest, and apparently the 
most healthy of the flock. 

Symptoms. A lameness in the legs that causes them 
to reel and stagger, and at last to fall down. Sometimes 
they die suddenly. Those that do not show an aver- 
sion to moving about, exhibit distress after sucking, 
weakness in their legs, and, in extreme cases, a total 
loss of the use of their legs. 

No Remedy is prescribed, to our knowledge. Purges 
produce no good effect. Emetics may. Means should 
be taken to prevent the lambs taking wool into their 
stomachs ; and this is difficult, as it is not known why 
and how they do it. One author says, " When the dung 
of the ewe is covered with wool, the lamb is apt to seize 
it instead of the teat, and swallow it, and the lambs, see- 
ing bits of hay fall on their mothers and on other lambs, 



SHEEP. 249 

are apt, in their desire to eat them, to draw out fLaments 
of 'wool and swallow them, from which these balls are 
formed." 

One writer says that when fodder is given to sheep in 
the open yard, or when the lambs have access to hay in 
the barn at all times, he has not known them to be affected 
.in this way. On feeding his sheep from racks, and not 
allowing his lambs to range in the barn, and eat hay at 
pleasure, the lambs could get hay only while the sheep 
were eating, one or two hours a day; and in the season he 
adopted this plan, a great many died, having balls of 
wool in their stomachs. Being anxious to get something 
to chew, they might take the loose locks of wool that are 
hanging about their mothers. 

Another supposes that after the lamb is a few weeks 
old, he has not milk enough, and eating freely of food 
too hearty for his tender age, an acescent state of the 
stomach is produced, which requires absorbents to neu- 
tralize the acid, and they may take the wool as most 
convenient. With these conjectures, we leave the sub- 
ject, not having facts at our disposal as to the cause. 

BROWSE FOR SHEEP. 

Browse of various kinds is good for sheep in winter 
They are very fond of it, as it affords a change, being a 
green food. The browse of oak, and other powerful 
astringents should be avoided. The browse of ever- 
greens is used, not only as a wholesome food, but for its 
medicinal qualities, particularly pine and hemlock. And 
in some cases it is used to considerable extent as a sub- 
stitute for other fodder. Pine and hemlock are best, but 
spruce and fir are also good. 

Some farmers have nearly supported their sheep on 
browse for months, when hay was scarce. J. Whitman, 
of Turner, Maine, has used pine and hemlock for his 
sheep for more than forty years, and he has known no 
injury from them, but a benefit, and a saving of hay. 
He says that hemlock does not injure sheep with lambs. 
He prefers pine and hemlock boughs to spruce and fir 



250 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



CASTRATION. 

The younger lambs are when altered, the less risk there 
is. The best rule is to cut them as soon as the testicles 
are accessible. Some wait till the youngest are old 
enough ; but in som|3 cases this will render the opera- 
tion on the oldest more hazardous, when they come at 
periods somewhat different. Therefore, small lots should 
be altered as they become fit. 

Though there is less danger at an earlier age, yet if it 
be performed on horned sheep when the lambs are two 
months old, the horns will be more fall, and the wethers 
will look handsomer. Care should be taken that, in 
catching the iambs, they be not harassed and disturbed, 
which will cause them to become heated and agitated. 
Heavy ewes are also liable to injury, without caution in 
disturbing the flock. 

Apply to the wound a little tar and lard mixed, or 
some soothing salve, bat no salt, ashes, or other harsh 
substances. Do not expose the lambs till they get well. 
Lying out nights on the cold ground is very injurious, 
and frequently fatal. There is nothing better than cold 
water to apply to the wound. 

TAILS OF SHEEP — DOCKING LAMBS. 

When sheep are affrighted, they frisk their tails, and 
are liable to dislocate their spines, and render them par- 
alytic, if their tails are long. Therefore, docking lambs is 
important. This is often very improperly done, by 
holding the lamb by the tail, and cutting off the tail as 
he is pulling. In this case, the skin is pulled back on 
the tail, and when cut off, it recedes, leaving the bone 
naked. When cutting the tail, push the skin towards 
the rump, and then cut, and the skin will return and 
cover the bone. Cut off in a joint, and the wound will 
be less sore. It is best to cut short, as sheep discharge 
dung as they are lying down, and if their tails are not 
short, they become foul. 



SHEEP. 251 



PHYSIC. 

For the general effects of physic, see page 33. Give 
the same purgatives as for cattle, only a tenth or twelfth 
part as much for a dose. In case of severe costiveness, 
give injections, and treat generally as cattle. 

MANNER OF BLEEDING. 

This operation is most easily performed on a large 
vein, the branches of which are spread over the face of 
the sheep. The vein may be felt passing over the angle 
of the jaw, into the neck, about two inches from it, or 
opposite to the third of the grinding teeth. Press upon 
the vein a little below where it is to be opened, and the 
blood will flow out freely when .the opening is made, 
which should be obliquely, not directly across or along 
the vein. When the point of the lancet has fairly 
entered the vein, it should be raised a little upwards, 
and carried forward, that it may not go through both 
sides, and that the wound may be large enough to allow 
the blood to flow freely. There is a small nerve running 
across the vein, and to avoid cutting it, which is impor- 
tant, the incision may be made as low down as possible. 

In diseases of the head, requiring bleeding, and in 
inflammation of the e3 r es, it is best to open this vein; 
but in diseases of other parts, blood may be procured 
from a vein that runs alom* the leg. This vein passes 
from the foot, along the back of the leg, to the ham, and 
then goes obliquely over to the fore part of the limb. It 
is nearest the surface, and sufficiently large a little above 
he knee. By grasping the limb above where the vein 
s to be opened, it swells. This is the course generally 
pursued by shepherds, but veterinary surgeons recom- 
mend bleeding in the jugular vein, as more effectual 
.Vith proper treatment, the harsh remedy of bleeding 
may generally be avoided. Indeed, it is not a remed\ 
out only temporary relief. 



252 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 






EXCRETORY DUCTS IN THE FEET. 

The legs of sheep are furnished with a duct which 
terminates in the fissure of the hoof, from which, when 
the animal is in health, is secreted a white fluid ; but 
when sickly, these ducts are stopped by the hardening 
of the fluid. In some cases, they may be relieved by 
merely pressing out the hardened matter from the orifice 
of the duct, in each foot. But to open and cleanse tha 
passages thoroughly, it may be necessary to place their 
feet in warm water or soap suds, and to use a probe or 
hand brush. 

TO DESTROY VERMIN. 

Sheep are often infested with ticks, which, in differerj 
ways, do much damage. In grown sheep, they cause 
the animal to pull out the Wool with its teeth, in biting 
and scratching to obtain relief from the intolerable itch- 
ing which they suffer. Sometimes almost the whole 
fleece is lost in this way. Ticks always tend to reduce 
the flesh of the sheep ; and in young lambs they are par- 
ticularly injurious, by keeping them poor and weak, so 
that they are unable to bear up under the effects of 
inclement weather ; thus remotely causing death. 

Remedy. There are several ways of ridding sheep 
from this annoyance. In a day or two after the sheep 
are sheared, the ticks having lost their natural shelter 
and protection, the wool, will nearly all, go on to the 
lambs ; the fleece of which is generally started enough 
to afford them better harbor than they can get on the 
closely shorn skins of the old sheep. At this time they 
may be very easily destroyed by immersing the lambs 
in a strong solution of tobacco. For this purpose, a tub 
or vat of sufficient size, should be procured, into which, 
after having sufficiently boiled or steeped the tobacco, 
[tobacco stems are just as good as anything,] turn the 
decoction. In this immerse the lamb all over, except 
the head, a sufficient time to allow the liquor to pene- 
trate to the.ikin. In this way, with convenient appara- 






SHEEP. 2&J 

tus, two hands will readily dip a hundred in an hour. 
If the solution is of proper strength, not a tick will bf 
found alive in ten minutes after immersion. 

Another. One of the most effectual and convenien 
modes, both to the operator and the animals, is to fumi- 
gate with tobacco smoke. We have observed that smoke 
is instant death to the filthy rascals. It may be taken 
up into a bellows, in the same way as air, and blown 
into the wool. A very cheap and convenient apparatus 
may be made of tin or green wood, into which tobacco 
and a live coal may be put, and with the bellows the 
smoke may be blown into the wool. The apparatus 
should be pointed, and the wool opened, and the point 
put near the skin and closed around it. After blowing 
in the smoke, take it out, close up the wool, and move 
to another place some eight or ten inches off, and thus 
, go over the whole fleece, which requires but a short 
time. We prefer this to all other methods, as nothing 
j is more effectual and harmless to the sheep. Sometimes 
* tobacco makes sheep sick, and it has killed lambs. 

New rum or whiskey, rubbed all over the animal, is, 
a good remedy for vermin of almost every kind. 

SCAB. 

This is one of the most destructive diseases that sheep 
are liable to in this country. It is so contagious that 
where it has once entered a flock, it generally passes 
through it, unless stayed in its course. 

Cause. It is the work of a parasitical insect of the 
acarus family, similar to the itch in the human race. 

Symptoms. It first makes its appearance on the 
shoulder and back; the animal rubs itself against every 
object, — the irritation constantly increasing till it tears 
out the wool with its teeth, — and exhibits intense suffer- 
ing. Little red pustules will appear along the back, and 
are succeeded by a dry scab. 

Remedy. Chancellor Livingston recommended spirits 
of turpentine and hog's lard, parts not named. One 
says he tried it with success. 
22 



254 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

Another. Apply an ointment of three parts grease 
and one of turpentine. 

Another. Running on freshly-burned land, if turned 
on immediately after shearing, that the coal and ashes 
may come in contact with their bodies. This is also 
good for foot-rot, and worms in the head. It promotes 
the general health of sheep, and they will go far to visit it. 

Another. Anoint the parts affected with a mixture 
of equal parts of tar and grease ; first wash in strong 
soap suds, and dry well. 

Another. A correspondent of the "American Far- 
mer" had two hundred ^heep; forty were badly affected 
with scab in November. At shearing time, he had lost 
one hundred. He cut sixteen pounds of tobacco up fine 
and boiled it. He put the liquor into a cask, and when 
cool enough to use, he put a gill of spirits of turpentine 
into the cask, and repeated this for every twelve sheep. 
The sheep were put into the liquor up to the head and 
ears, moved around so as to be thoroughly wet, and then 
drained. He did not lose another, and the ticks were 
destroyed. One writer says the liquor may injure if 
there be more than quarter of a pound of tobacco to a 
gallon. 

Another. Mercury is very destructive to acari, but 
it is a dangerous medicine, excepting in skilful hands. 
Some think it is more safe, more easily applied, and 
surer than decoctions of tobacco or solutions of arsenic. 
With one part of mercurial ointment, known as ungnen- 
tum, mix five parts of lard, and apply it, in moderate 
quantity only, to the parts affected. Or, as the power 
and quality of the ointment are uncertain, make one that 
can be depended on, as follows : Crude quicksilver, half 
a pound ; spirits of turpentine, one ounce. Rub them 
together for several hours, till perfectly united. Rub a 
little on a piece of glass, with the finger, and if shining 
particles remain, continue the rubbing. To this mix- 
ture, well reduced and mixed, add two and a quarter 
pounds of lard, of the temperature of new milk, and stir 
till stiff. After using mercurial ointment, protect the 
sheep from cold and storms. 



SHEEP. 265 



STOPPAGES IN THE THROAT. 

This disease causes wheezing and difficult breathing, 
and it is commonly produced by colds or bad pasturage. 

Remedy. If colds cause the disease, keep them warm ; 
if it is owing to unfavorable pasturage, put them on 
higher grounds. Make a strong tea of pennyroyal, and 
to one quart add a pound of honey or half a pint of mo- 
lasses, and half a pint of sharp vinegar. Give half a 
pint of this, warm, every night. Other warming aro- 
matic teas will answer. 

SORE MOUTH AND JOHNSWORT SCAB. 

Sometimes sheep have sore mouths from eating poison 
hemlock, St. Johnswort, or other irritant or poisonous 
plant. The poison may also affect the intestines ; and 
eating St. Johnswort will cause scales of the skin over 
ihe whole body. 

Remedy. Apply tar plentifully for the sore mouth 
and for inflammation of the bowels, give tar and salt 
Put tar in troughs or on boards and strew salt over it 
If they will hot eat it, put it far back on their tongues 
and they must swallow it. Apply to the scabs a salve 
of lard and sulphur, or give these for internal inflamma- 
tion. They are also good for the sore mouth. 

DISORDERS OF THE EYES. 

Sheep are often affected with colds falling upon their 
eyes, and almost blinding them ; and at other times they 
have this complaint without any visible cause. In either 
case, the remedy is the same. Press out the juice of 
great celandine, and drop a quantity of it into the eyes, 
night and morning. [See page 66.1 



256 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



WORMS IN THE HEAD. 

This is probably the most destructive disorder with 
which sheep are afflicted in this country ; and many die 
with it, and the owners know not the cause, or learn ii 
too late. In some cases, half of large flocks have diec 
of this disease in one year. The annual loss in thi* 
country is estimated at one million of dollars ; but ol 
late more attention is paid to preventives and cures. 

Cause. A large fly, or bee, (Oestrus wis,) lays its eggir 
in the nostrils of sheep, in August and September, and 
perhaps earlier and later, where they hatch, and from 
twenty-five to one hundred small white grubs, with 
black heads, and a black streak on the back, may some- 
times be found in the cavity between the nostrils and 
windpipe. They continue in this place till the next 
summer, when they get their growth, and are as large as 
a pipe-stem, and nearly an inch long, with four large 
teeth, as hard as bone. They then leave the sheep, and 
soon cast off their skin, when the bee appears, and is 
ready to lay a new lot of eggs. Some say that the 
worms do not injure fat sheep, as they find sufficient 
support in the nostrils, but in poor sheep, for want of 
food, they ascend in the head. When attacked by the 
fly, sheep run with their noses to the ground, and often 
thrust them into loose earth to shut up the avenues of 
approach to the enemy. 

Symptoms. They do not generally appear till towards 
spring, at which time they may be discovered by a sickly 
countenance and loss of flesh, notwithstanding the best 
of keeping ; sometimes running at the nose, (though not 
always,) and snorting, as if trying to blow something 
from the head. In some cases, the sheep suddenly 
spring about in a wild, frantic manner, and drop down 
dead. When this symptom is exhibited, the grubs have 
assailed some vital part. When they do not die 
in this manner, they become so poor that their wool 
stops growing and falls off, and they give little or no 
milk. Sometimes they linger, pining away, and do not 
die till June or July. 



SHEEP. 257 

Preventive. Smear the noses of sheep with tar fre- 
quently, from the coming until the departure of the fly. 
To be sure, begin in July, and continue the use of tar 
till October. It may be applied directly to the noses of 
sheep, but the better way is to lay it in a trough or on a 
board, and strew salt on it, and the sheep, in eating the 
salt, will smirch their noses pretty well themselves. 
Give them salt in this way frequently, or keep a supply 
by them. Tar is also a specific against other diseases. 

Remedy. Take half a pound of good Scotch snuff, 
pour on it two quarts of boiling water, stir it and let 
it stand till cold j with a syringe inject about a table 
spoonful of this liquid and sediment up each nostril. 
Repeat this three or four times, at proper intervals, from 
the middle of October to the first of January. The grubs 
are then small and more easily destroyed than after- 
wards, and they will not have injured the sheep as they 
will if this operation be deferred till later. Half an 
ounce of asafoetida, pounded in a little water, and added 
to the snuff, will make it more effectual. There need 
be no alarm if the sheep be very drunk, and apparently 
in the agonies of death, when the operation is performed, 
as they will soon recover. Dry snuff may be blown up 
the nose with a quill, and have a good effect, but it is a 
slow and dirty job. 

The reason for repeating the operation is, there are 
many cavities and folds where the grubs may not be 
exposed, and by repeating the application often, they 
may crawl out, and, by a change of situation, become 
exposed to the snuff. The sediment is thrown up, as it 
will be likely to remain longer, and prove more effectual 
than the liquid. 

Another. Blow tobacco-smoke well up the nostrils, 
by inserting the stem of a tobacco-pipe, well charged 
and lighted, and blow at the bowl, through a covering of 
cloth, for a few seconds, then in the other nostril. 

Another. Pour into each nostril of every sheep 
affected, a tea-spoonful each of spirits of turpentine and 
olive oil. 

Mr, J. Brown, of Akron, Ohio, a distinguished dock- 
master, of much experience, says, in the " Ohio Culti 
22* 



258 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

vator," that the fly, which is of light drab color, deposits 
a crawling maggot at the nose of the sheep. He had 
taken hundreds of them, alive and active, from flies. 
His son had them deposited twice at his nose, while at 
work among the sheep. The flies work in summer, and 
in the fall till cool weather. The act of depositing is 
done very quick, and the. maggot is ready to pass im- 
mediately into the head. The only chance to destroy 
them is during their infancy, before they pass high into 
the head, which is not under five or six weeks. There 
are two sets in a year, if not more. Matured ones have 
been found in the heads of lambs not more than four 
months old. 

Remedy. He uses tobacco-water with excellent suc- 
cess, commencing the last of July, and applying it till 
the last of October, generally three times in the season. 
Boil one pound of good tobacco in a gallon of water. 
Turn the sheep on their backs in a little trench dug in 
the ground, and with the head held back on the ground, 
inject with some force about a table-spoonful of the 
liquor into each nostril, pointing the syringe so that it 
will go into the cavities in the head, instead of falling 
into the throat. If at first the animals appear sick and 
cannot stand, they will soon get over it. Two persons 
will go through with several hundred in a day. 

STURDY, OR WATER IN THE HEAD. 

The most common forms of this disease arise from a 
collection of water in cysts or bags connected with the 
brain, on which it acts fatally, by pressure. Lambs 
and yearlings are the principal sheep liable to this dis- 
order. 

Cause. It is supposed to be caused by the exposure 
of the back to cold and wet. Hence it is common to 
young animals whose wool parts on the back and ex- 
poses it. It prevails most after wet, cold winters, and 
in flocks most exposed. 

Symptoms. Dulness ; languid appearance ; ceasing 
to graze and ruminate ; walking in a staggering 
mannner j giddiness ; looking wildly ; starting off as 



SHEEP. 259 

though frightened j loss of flesh ; haggard countenance ; 
blue color in the eye j after awhile, a rotary motion, 
always one way ; blindness and death ensues. 

Preventive. In some sections of Europe the back? 
of young sheep are protected, during the inclement sea- 
son, by a covering of cloth or other article. 

Remedy. Examine the skull for a soft spot in the 
bone, which indicates where the water is collected. 
Then perforate the skull with a trocar, accompanied by 
a tube through which the water may escape. After 
which, apply a few drops of the essence of myrrh to the 
aperture. Shelter the animal and dress the wound. 
This sometimes succeeds, but more often the reverse. 
But better save a few than lose the whole. A writer on 
this subject says that he knew a shepherd in Europe 
that saved nearly all on which he operated in this man- 
ner, while he himself lost almost all on which he operated 
in this way, but saved nearly all on which he operated 
by running a sharp wire up the nostril into the bram, 
and letting out the water. He thought that in tapping 
through the skull, he might not open deep enough. In 
either way, it is a nice operation, that requires skill. 

A sheep with this disorder was pronounced incurable, 
and left to die ; and a boy bored a hole with a gimlet 
exactly on the top of the scalp j the water streamed out ; 
in a few minutes, the sheep started up, and ate grass, 
and shortly recovered. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN. 

This disease is caused by confinement in bad air, or 
high feeding, whether stall feeding or luxuriant pasture. 

Symptoms of this disease are so very different from 
sturdy, which we have just described, that they are 
easily distinguished. This disease generally attacks the 
healthiest sheep, and of all ages, and more in hot weather 
than early in spring. In this complaint there is no 
stupidity, no disinclination to move, no moving round 
and round ; but the eyes are protruding, bloodshot and 
bright, and the countenance seems eager and ferocious, 
not depressed and anxious. The animal is in constant 



260 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

motion ; he gallops about ; attacks his companions and 
the shepherd, and even assaults a tree or post. He is 
under wild delirium, and so continues till exhausted j he 
then rests, and again starts as wild as ever. 

Remedy. Bleed rather lightly and if there be 
blindness, bleed in the vein running from the corner of 
the eye to the nose. Give each two ounces of castor-oil 
or other physic. Wash the head in hartshorn, or in cold 
vinegar and water. Give to drink herb tea sweetened 
with molasses. Give a plenty of room, pure air, and 
light food. 

APOPLEXY. 

This happens only to sheep in high condition, and 
then from journeys, worrying, or over-fatigue. Sheep, 
though very fat, if kept quiet, are seldom affected with 
this disease. 

Treatment. Give physic, and feed sparingly on 
light food. Bran mashes and roots are good. Prefer 
grass to hay in the season of it. In winter give clover. 
If there are feverish habits, give raspberry tea, or some 
other sedative. 

STAGGERS. 

Caused by improper food, which produces constipation 
of the bowels, and staggers follow. Oak leaves and 
buds, and other astringent substances are injurious, as 
they bind the bowels. 

Symptoms. Giddiness in the head, and trembling in 
all the limbs. The sheep stagger and fall. 

Remedy. Dissolve an ounce of asafcetida in two 
quarts of water. Give a gill to each animal, warm, 
every three hours. This commonly opens the bowels, 
and gives relief; it also has remedial effects on the ner- 
vous system. When recovered, let them not return to 
the same food. 

Another. Melt half a pint of hog's lard, and pour 
down the throat of each. Any other physic may be 
used, as salts, oil, thoroughwort tea. Feed on light, 
laxative food. 



SHEEP. 



FOUL NOSES. 



261 



Put tar in troughs, or on boards, and put salt on it, 
and if the sheep will not eat it voluntarily, in this or in 
some other way that you can devise, put it into their 
mouths, and so near their throats that it will go down. 
Pine boughs are also good for this complaint. 

INFLUENZA. 

Cause. Exposure to storms and cold. Lambs or 
young sheep are most liable to it. 

Symptoms. The first are a dulness of countenance 
and a disinclination to join the rest of the flock, or to 
look for food. They soon become more dull ; a thin, 
mucous discharge from the nose and eyes ; drooping of 
the ears • grating of the teeth, and a staggering gait in 
walking. As the disease advances, these symptoms be- 
come more manifest. When it is considerably advanced, 
diarrhoea generally sets in. 

Treatment. To those afflicted with purging, give 
astringents of chalk, &c, combining them with an aro- 
matic. To those that are costive, give a gentle laxative, 
followed by a tonic. Keep them in a warm, dry place, 
till recovered. Small doses of tar are also good. Keep 
the bowels open with laxative food, such as bran mashes 
and roots. 

SCOURS, OR DIARRHOEA. 

Causes. These are numerous, such as eating a soft, 
tathy pasture, particularly if fouled by inundations of 
the previous winter ; feeding on too rich a pasture ; sud- 
den change from a poor to a rich pasture ; change 
from dry to succulent food ; transition from heat to cold ; 
giving salt very freely ; weakness and relaxation of the 
bowels ; improper food ; change of place, and other 
causes. 

Remarks. Diarrhoea is frequently only the symptoms 
of other disorders exhibited in this sanative effort of 



262 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

nature to ward off a more serious evil ; therefore, it may 
be well to let it continue twenty-four hours before at- 
tempting to check it. 

Remedy. When purging is brought on by a soft, 
tathy pasture, or by too rich a pasture, a moderate 
allowance of good hay will generally stop it. When it 
is caused by exposure to damp, or by sudden transition 
from heat, to cold, it may be arrested by keeping the ani- 
mal in a house a few days, and feeding on dry food. 

But when crude, trashy matter has been swallowed, 
and it keeps up irritation, medicine must be resorted to. 
Administer to each animal an ounce of castor-oil in 
gruel j adding twenty drops of laudanum, if there has 
been any straining or evidence of pain. When the bow- 
els have been well cleaned by a cathartic, if the discharge 
continue, it should be checked by astringents. For this 
purpose, a decoction of raspberry leaves, or of black- 
berry roots, may be used, or other astringent, and molli- 
fying drinks. 

Another. After tagging them, give to each from four 
to six table spoonfuls of rennet, prepared as for making 
cheese. To lambs, give in proportion to their size. If 
they are not relieved in twenty-four hours, repeat the 
dose. One dose generally cures. 

For Scours in Young Lambs. Give each a tea-spoon- 
ful of ginger and rhubarb, in warm gruel, with ten drops 
of laudanum. 

Another for Sheep or Lambs. Give them a small 
dose of castor-oil, and, the next day, give some milk in 
which have been boiled a little flour and some suet. 

Another. Take soot from the chimney, and give a 
table-spoonful to each sheep, every three or four hours ; 
or pulverized charcoal will do as well. 

Diet has an important effect. Give flax-seed gruel, 
wheat brail, or shorts, well cured hay, and a plenty of 
salt. Fresh boughs of evergreen are good, in the winter 
season. 



SHEEP. 263 



DYSENTERY. 

The diarrhoea, or scours, continuing from neglect or 
bad treatment, or being very severe, degenerates into 
dysentery, and then the disease assumes a more serious 
form. A considerable discharge of mucus takes place, 
and blood occasionally. This disease is attended with 
severe griping in the bowels, and sometimes with inflam- 
mation in the intestines generally. 

Remedy. Give small doses of physic, such as castor- 
oil or salts, for a few days, to clear the bowels of impu- 
rities, before giving astringents. The remedies recom- 
mended for scours will generally prove effectual in this 
disorder. If not, give, once or twice a day, in lard or 
oil, an even table-spoonful of fresh charcoal, reduced to 
an impalpable powder. This is a powerful remedy, and 
the lard or oil tends to prevent checking the discharge 
too soon. [See page 205.] 

ROT. 

Cause. On this subject there are various opinions. 
Some suppose that the numerous fluke worms which 
are found in the livers and gall-bladders of sheep dying 
with this disease, are produced from eggs that have 
been taken into the stomach with the grass on which the 
sheep have been feeding ; while others think that they 
are the effect, not the cause, of disease — that these ani- 
malcules are engendered by the putrid contents of the 
stomach, caused by the watery and acid properties of 
food taken by sheep while feeding on aquatic plants, 
indigenous to wet pastures. This is the opinion of the 
celebrated shepherd and poet, William Hogg, who had 
an experience of more than half a century. He thinks 
it may also be caused or promoted by bad management, 
or some adventitious circumstances in the animal's life, 
as a sea-voyage, Ace. 

On low lands, the soft, washy sustenance imparts 
no consistence of vigor to the muscular and essential 
parts of the body, the viscera are increased ; a bad 



264 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

shape is acquired ; the Jungs become obstructed in their 
full play, and finally affected ; the unripe food produces 
an unusual degree of serum in the abdomen, which is 
diffused through many parts of the system, the miasma 
of the low lands promoting the disease, and after awhile 
the waste of the body falls into a tumor under the chin, 
called the poke. 

Hogg says, "Excess of fluid in those varieties of 
grass which the animal selects for its food, and a defi 
ciency of those firm, consistent kinds which are pecu- 
liarly adapted for strengthening the stomach, for animat- 
ing and establishing the muscular system, I take to be the 
radical cause of this disorder ; yet secondary causes may 
operate with such force and vigor as to unhinge the best 
constitution, and dissolve the best constructed parts, and 
when this is done, the rot is always the consequence." 

It prevails the most in cold seasons, especially when 
cold dribbling rains come on soon after shearing. Flocks 
not sheltered at night in unfavorable weather, are most 
liable to this disease. Want of food will also occa- 
sion it, as well as eating grass full of unwholesome 
plants. 

This disease is not common in this country, but in 
Great Britain it is very frequent and fatal, causing the 
destruction of many thousands annually . This di fference 
is doubtless owing to their moister climate, luxuriant 
pastures, and artificial mode of feeding. Sheep do best 
in dry climates, in dry seasons, and on high and dry 
lands. Wet and dampness is destructive to them, espe- 
cially if it be cold. In this country sheep are generally 
kept on hilly lands, (and mostly on short pasturage,) 
where the air and water are pure, and the herbage is 
firm, sweet, and wholesome. On the flat and luxuriant 
lands of the west, where the atmosphere and water are 
less pure, and the herbage more luxuriant, the rot, in o 
modified form, or some disease that resembles it, pre- 
vails considerably. 

In some countries, rot is the most destructive disorder 
to which sheep are liable. Some consider it infectious, 
as it often spreads throughout the flock, and frequently 
over a whole neighborhood; but this general preva- 



SHEEP. 265 

.ence may be owing to the primary cause being general. 
Some remark that this disease is not infectious, as it 
often happens that only a few sheep are attacked in a 
large flock. 

Symptoms. This disorder does not at first exhibit 
itself externally. The blood loses its high color and 
tendency to coagulate, and becomes watery. The first 
symptoms, therefore, are a bright-red appearance about 
the eyes ; the lips and the inside of the mouth become 
pale, as well as the skin generally under the wool ; the 
animal has a faint aspect, is feeble, and the skin is foul ; 
he is dull and listless in motion, and heavy, as though 
his legs could not carry him. But he continues to feed, 
and does not grow poor, though the natural vivacity is 
diminished, and signs of weakness appear. The disease 
commonly gains strength in winter. Watery swellings 
are formed under the chin, which are often absorbed 
and then reappear. Soon after these the animal gener 
ally dies, without symptoms of pain. 

Remedy. A change of the sheep to a high, airy situa 
tion, especially where there are many aromatic herbs, is 
sometimes sufficient to effect a cure, if taken in season, 
and the weather be dry and warm. But when this dis- 
order has reached such a point that the symptoms are 
evident to a common observer, it is generally incurable. 
Horse chestnuts are an excellent fodder in this case ; also 
a mixture of juniper berries, sage, wormwood, gentian, 
angelica root, willow bark, and other bitter substances, 
with a little salt and grain, which things they will gener- 
aDy eat of their own accord, if given them in the morn- 
ing, in small quantities, without other food. Tar is an 
excellent preventive ; of course it will aid as a restora- 
tive. Wood ashes added to the salt is excellent. This 
is used as a preventive. 

FEVER. 
Dissolve half an ounce of saltpetre in water and vine- 
gar, and give it to the sheep lukewarm. Give also gen- 
tle physic. A tea of raspberry leaves, in addition to the 
othei remedies, wi 1 be useful. So will other sedative 
teas [See Fever i n « Cattle."] 
23 



266 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



CONSUMPTION. 

Causes. There are various causes. The most com 
mon is exposure to storms of rain and damp snows in 
the cold season. Sheep will endure severe cold without 
injury, when kept dry, but they suffer severely by wet 
in cot i weather, as their fleece, which serves as a pro- 
tection when dry, becomes, when wet, a cold', uncom 
fortable mass, that holds the moisture for a long time. 
Bucks that have been put to too great a number of ewes, 
are most liable to this disease. 

Symptoms. The eyes uncommonly'bright and shining, 
water constantly running from them, and a gradual loss 
of flesh, running at the nose, and a cough. 

Remedy. Tar or tar- water is good; but after the 
disease is seated, it is doubtful whether anything will 
avail. We heard of a case of a sheep that had a severe 
cough, and was failing fast in the spring; on being 
turned out and eating fresh herbage, she began to im- 
prove, and soon recovered. She became very fat, and 
was killed in the fall, when a new growth of the liver 
could be plainly perceived. Sweetened teas and syrups, 
of various kinds, as used for the human patient, have a 
favorable effect. 

STRETCHES. 

Causes. It is caused by the bowels not being kept 
sufficiently open, costiveness resulting from the sheep 
being kept a long time from the ground in hard winters 
and on dry food. Sometimes it is caused by an involu- 
tion of one part of the intestine into another. In this 
case a cure may be effected, at times, by taking the ani- 
mal by the hind legs, and jerking them back several 
times. 

Symptoms. They frequently lie down and rise again, 
stretching themselves, and refusing food. If not re- 
lieved, they generally die in seven or eight days. Me- 
rinos are said to be most subject to this complaint. 

Preventives. Feed twice a week, or a little evert 



SHEEP. 267 

day, with green food, such as potatoes, carrots, beets, 
parsnips, cabbages and apples. Boughs of hemlock and 
pine are good ; those of spruce and fir will answer, but 
are not so good. Bran mashes are good to keep the 
bowels open. Clover hay is more laxative than other 
fodder. 

Remedy. A table spoonful of castor-oil to each sheep 
generally gives relief, and soon effects a cure under good 
treatment as to food. 

Another. Give each a gill of hog's lard. 

Another. Give each an ounce of Epsom salts. 

Another. In Morrell's " American Shepherd," a 
work of great merit, it is said that a neighbor gave 
each a quid of tobacco, which always proved effectual. 
This is physical. 

BRAXY. 

Causes. Exposure to severe storms, poor keep, 
plunging into water when hot, feeding on frost-bitten, 
putrid, or indigestible food. Many die of this disorder 
on the prairies. 

Symptoms. Loathing of food ; hanging the head ; 
drawing up the back ; swelled belly, and feverishness. 

Remedy. Give a dose of physic of Epsom salts, one 
and a half ounces or two table spoonfuls of castor-oil. 
If the physic does not operate in six hours, give an in- 
jection, an exciting one if necessary, to cause the physic 
to operate. Give gruel, and light laxative food. Pro- 
vide warm, dry shelter, pure water, and good food. 

DROPSY. 

Sheep are often swelled with water in their bellies, 
and if not attended to it is certain death. There are 
two states. The one is water between the outward flesh 
and the rim, the other within the rim. In the first case 
.he cure is easy ; in the other, nothing can be done. 

Remedy. In the first case, the cure is by a kind ot 
tapping. An opening is to be made in the flesh, s and a 
quill put in. This will give the water a free passage 



268 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

out, and the wound heals of itself. But when the sheep 
is poor and weak, the wound must be examined daily, 
and dressed with tar and grease ; and the animal must 
be put in a dry pasture. This disorder is likely to re- 
turn on mismanagement in keeping. Diuretics are good 
for this disease, as they carry off the water by increasing 
the discharge of urine ; but these must be used in mod- 
eration, lest the kidneys be injured by over action. 

FOOT-ROT. 

This disorder is occasioned by sheep going in wet 
pastures. There is an issue in the division of each foot, 
a little above the hoof, which some have erroneously 
supposed to be a living worm. When sheep stand long 
in the water, it affects the issues in their feet, so that an 
inflammation takes place, and their feet will rot off, 
without some remedy. One great cause is that soft, low 
lands encourage a rapid growth of the hoof, which would 
be worn away if the sheep travelled far on rough, high 
lands. 

Some suppose that this disease has been imported into 
this country in modern days, and that it is produced and 
propagated only by contagion and infection, and that 
diseased sheep may leave infectious matter when they 
travel, that will communicate the disorder to others that 
pass the same way months afterwards. 

Preventive. Though nature has provided the issues 
in the feet of sheep for a useful purpose, as well as those 
in the legs of swine, yet some recommend taking out 
those issues when sheep run in low lands. It may be 
done thus : put the finger on the under side of the foot 
and press upward, then with a sharp knife cut through 
the skin around the mouth of the issue, and with a strong 
pair of tweezers it may be pulled out ; the place will then 
heal, and the sheep will not be liable to the foot-rot, 
though they run in wet pastures. 

Another Preventive. Make the sheep travel every 
day over a rough surface that will wear away their hoofs 
as they grow; or every fortnight rub them down with 



SHEEP. 269 

a pumice stone ; or .pare and rasp them. Having done 
this, give a gentle purgative. 

Another. Mix with the salt given to sheep, one 
twentieth part of sulphur, and this will tend to prevent 
the foot-rot. or aid in the cure. In using remedies, it may 
be well to use some of these preventives as an auxiliary. 

Remedy. Take one pound of blue vitriol, (sulphate of 
copper,) one ounce of alum, and pulverize them as fine 
as flour ; mix them with a table spoonful of honey and 
lard enough to make a salve. Pare the feet thoroughly, 
and apply this mixture to the sore. Tar may be used in 
place of honey. 

Another. Place a few bushels of lime where the 
sheep frequently pass, as by the bars or gate, so that it 
may be three inches deep when they alight on jumping. 
Pare their hoofs first. The lime should be fresh and 
slaked. If deeper than three inches, it may take the 
hair off the legs. This is called a speedy remedy. 

Another. Pare the hoof as far as there is any dirt or 
fester under it, wash it in soap suds, and wipe it clean 
and dry. Then bathe the tender parts with a feather 
dipped in the butyr (chloride) of antimony. Turn the 
infected sheep into a dry lot by themselves ; in a week 
examine again, and turn the wett ones into the flock, 
and repeat the application to the others. 

Another. Three parts of finely pulverized Roman 
or blue vitriol, and one part of white lead ; mix into a 
thin paste with linseed oil. Slightly cut the hoof, so as 
to come at the affected part, and apply the remedy. It 
may need repeating. This is recommended by Hon. 
William Jarvis, who is high authority in sheep manage- 
ment, in his letter in the " American Shepherd." 

Another. Running on freshly burned lands. [See 
page 244.] 

Another. Pare the hoof as before directed, and then 
apply, daily, spirits of turpentine to the affected parts. 



I Note. — For Hoven, Abortion, Swelled Udders, Man 
i agement when with Young, &c, see these subjects in 
Cows. 

23* 



SWINE. 

The figure on the left is an excellent representation of 
the White Chester breed of hogs, considerably known in 
Delaware and some parts of the neighboring States. 
They are noted for large size, rapid growth, early ma- 
turity, and propensity to fatten ; they are also distin- 
guished for symmetry and beauty of form. We know 
not how they will compare with many very fine varieties 
in other sections of the country. 



The diseases of swine are less known than those oi 
other animals, owing to their being regarded as dirty, 
obstinate, unsocial animals, averse to being handled and 
petted, "as contrary as a hog;" and from this distant 
acquaintance with their keepers, they are but little 
affected by suasion, and, of course, are very difficult to 
doctor. Therefore, it is of great importance to preserve 
the health oi the hog, for, with this animal, prevention is 
emphatically the better cure. 

TO PRESERVE HEALTH. 

In summer, keep hogs in a cool, airy situation, and do 
not make them extremely fat in hot weather. Allow no 
carrion or filth, with noxious effluvia, to remain near 
them. If confined, give them green food, such as grass, 
weeds, and other herbage, and occasionally raw roots. 
Give them pure water to drink, and, if possible, a supply 
to wallow in. Wash them now and then in buttermilk 
and if they are very dirty, wash them in soap suds, and 
then in buttermilk. This will keep their skin clean, 
soft, loose, and add greatly to their health and thrift. 

In cold weather, give them a dry, warm shelter, well 
ventilated in moderate weather, and a good, soft, warm 
bed, and renew the litter occasionally. Cobbett says, 
give your hog a bed in which you could pass a night 



272 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

comfortably yourself ; give pure water, and generally 
warm food, and occasionally green food, such as raw 
roots, cabbage leaves, raw apples, &c. 

At all seasons, when hogs are confined, give, in addi- 
tion to the above, pure earth, charcoal, and occasionally 
rotten wood, for an absorbent. Give a suitable quan- 
tity of salt, and now and then a small dose of sulphur 
and antimony, and a little tar, and let them have access 
to alkalies, such as wood ashes and lime. If not sup- 
plied with condiments here named, urine, given occa- 
sionally, in swill, will be beneficial. And though we 
name it last, it should be first, as it is the most important, 
— keep the issues open. 

Issues. Hogs have no insensible perspiration of the 
whole body, like the horse, ox, and many animals. But 
they have issues on the inside of their fore legs, just 
below the knee, which are porous, like the top of a pep- 
per-box. These serve to drain off the superabundant 
fluids and humors of the body. Sometimes, from their 
being much in the mud and filth, or from a diseased 
state of the system, the pores in these issues become 
obstructed, and the animals fail, appearing as though 
they were foundered. 

Remedy. Take a cob, or other rough substance, and 
with soap suds, rub open and wash the issues. 

Swellings. To scatter swellings, take two quarts of 
whiskey, or other proof spirits ; warm it over coals ; but 
not to blaze, and dissolve in it a pint of soft soap. When 
cool, put it into a bottle, and add one ounce of cam- 
phor. [See Poultices, Liniments, &c] 

Ruptures. In this case, a hole is broken in the rim of 
the belly, where a part of the guts come out, and lodge 
between the belly and the skin, giving an appearance 
similiar to a swelling in the testicles. Male pigs are 
most liable to this disorder. 

Geld the pig thus affected, if it has not been done, and 
cause him to be held up, with the head downward ; flay 
back the skin from the swelled place, and from the situ- 
ation of the pig, the guts will return to their place. Sew 
up the place with a needle, which should be crooked, to 
arork between the hind legs. Then replace the skin ant' 



swine. 273 

sew it up. Apply a little lard or mild salve externally, 
to keep the parts soft, and feed lightly for a few days. 

Giving Drenches. Do not give drenches to hogs while 
they are hung up squealing, with a rope in their mouths j 
for in this position and condition, the drench will gener- 
ally go down the wrong way, and choke them. But give 
the medicine in milk, if they will take it ; if not, let them 
fast awhile, and try them again. Medicines may be 
given in the form of a clyster. This is safe and effectual 

A General Medicine. The Am. Farmer says, when 
hogs are sick, and you know not what ails them, nor 
what to do for them, give them ears of corn, first dipped 
in tar, and then rolled in sulphur. Ten to one it will 
cure in common cases of disease. In addition, we 
would recommend opening the issues, if they need this 
operation, and giving a few ashes and some charcoal. 

Disorder in Hogs. In hot weather, hogs are some- 
times attacked with a lameness in their hind legs, so 
that they can hardly move. Owing to high feed, such 
as corn and barley meal, without fermentation, inflam- 
mation ensues, and the issues of their legs become closed, 
which open. Give green food, pure air and water. 

Fever. Bleed in the tail ; give, twice or thrice a day, 
water wherein pepper and parsnip roots have been 
boiled. Mild physic is also good. Feed lightly. 

Swine Pox. Pound an ounce of saltpetre, and dissolve 
it in a pint of cider ; add half a pint of sweet oil, and a 
table spoonful of honey, and give it lukewarm. 

Catarrh. Two ounces coriander seed, one of ginger, 
three of honey, and half an ounce of tumeric ; powder 
fine, and boil in three quarts of new milk, and give. 

Measles is caused by carrying the fattening pro- 
cess too far, or too rapidly, by sudden change from poor 
keep to rich food. It is mostly in the throat, which 
is internally filled with small pustules or tumors. 

Remedy. Give, twice a week, to each animal, crude 
antimony, finely powdered, as much at a dose as will 
lay on a shilling piece. 

Another. A small quantity of sulphur given occa- 
sionally to swine, is good for their general health, and 
prevents the measles ; it has a curative effect also, and 
will succeed with good management. 



274 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

Another. Rub them all over with a stiff brush, 
dipped in cold water j then boil parsley roots and rue in 
salt water, and give. 

Itch, or Mange, often appears among pigs only a 
few weeks old. They are seen rubbing their sides, and 
on examination, it will be found that their bellies are 
broken out with fine water blisters, somewhat like itch 
on a person. If nothing be done to cure them, the dis- 
order increases, and they grow poor, and rub themselves 
until they rub off the hair, and most of the skin from 
their sides, and the greater part of them die*. 

Remedy. Lard and sulphur, in equal parts, melted, 
and mixed together, and applied very liberally all over, 
effects a speedy cure. Mr. Isaac Stone, of Watertown, 
informed us of this remedy, which w r e published in the 
Farmer's Journal. He used it w r ith invariable success. 
Previous to his discovering this remedy, he lost many 
swine by this disease, though trying various medicines, 
external and internal. At the same time, give sulphur. 

Blind Staggers is caused by a determination of blood 
to the head. But there are causes for that, and one may 
be the stoppage of the issues, which should be opened 
the first thing. High feeding, and the want of pure air, 
exercise, and condiments, are causes. 

Remedy. A warming medicine is needed. Give a 
good dose of new rum and pepper. 

Another. Cut the smooth knob in the roof of the 
cnouth, until the animal bleeds freely, aiid then rub it 
a r ith a powder of loam and salt, and give urine to drink. 

Another. With a sharp knife, make an incision 
through the skin, about two inches in length, vertically, 
m the forehead, about one and a half inches below the top 
:>f the head, and insert in the wound and under the skin, 
is much fine salt as possible. Repeat the salt often. 

Is Tobacco Poisonous to Hogs ? Tobacco is a deadly 
poison to hogs, when taken internally ; so says one, as 
he lost some hogs that had eaten tobacco. But another 
says that he gave to four hogs a good sized hand of 
tobacco, as a remedy for the worms, and they did well. 

Sore Throat. Turn hogs thus affected into an open 
pasture, where they can have fresh herbage, pure air and 



swine. 275 

water, and fresh earth to root. If this be not convenient, 
give them a good dry shelter, good air, pure water, fresh 
earth, charcoal, and green food, such as grass, weeds, &c 
A few raw roots will be good. Give the following for a 
swelling in the throat : — Half a pint of molasses, a table 
spoonful each of hog's lard and sulphur, and a tea- 
spoonful of Cayenne or black pepper. Melt, and mix 
all together, and when just cool enough, pour down- the 
throat, unless you can make him eat it in light food. 

Quincy. This is a sore throat, and the enlargement 
of the glands of the throat, with a stiffness of the limbs. 

Remedy. See that the issues are open. Give mod- 
erate doses of physic, say two ounces of salts, which may 
be mixed with light food. Feed lightly, and add to the 
food, lye of wood ashes and salt. 

Scours. Give raw tomatoes, or give powdered chalk, 
and remedies recommended for other animals. Among 
the most valuable is freshly burnt, powdered charcoal. 
f f hogs will not eat it, pulverize, and mix it with their food. 

Black Teeth. Cause. Close confinement from the 
ground. 

Symptoms. Loss of appetite, dizziness, and weakness 
of the hind legs and hips. The teeth are black. 

Remedy. Extract the black teeth; give sulphur; and 
wash the patient in butter-milk, rubbing smartly with a 
curry-comb, cob, or stiff brush ; rub open the issues, and 
allow the animal pure air and water, fresh earth, rot- 
ten-wood and charcoal ; and grass, weeds, &c. 

Kidney Worms. This disease is indicated by weak- 
ness about the loins. 

Remedy. Corn, soaked in lye of wood ashes, perse- 
veringly used, has cured in many cases. 

Another. D. H. Maxwell, in the Baltimore Farmer, 
says of the above, that it may do in recent and slight 
affections ; but a more certain treatment is to make an 
incision about an inch long, and on each side of the 
backbone, over the kidneys, and after separating the 
skin slightly from the parts beneath, insert two or three 
cloves of garlic. Take a stitch to confine the garlic. 
First, shave off the hair. Dr. Holmes, of the Maine 
Farmer, thinks that pieces of onion or garget root, would 
do as well. 



276 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

Murrain or Leprosy. Cause. Chiefly hot summers ; 
consequently, the blood becomes inflamed. 

Symptoms. Shortness and heat of breath ; head hang 
ing down ; staggering, and the secretion of viscid mat- 
ter from the eyes. 

Preventive. Follow the directions for preserving health 
in summer, on a preceding page. 

Remedy. Boil a handful of nettles in a gallon of 
small beer ; then add half a pound of the flour of sul 
phur, a quarter of a pound of pulverized anise-seed 
three ounces of liquorice, and a quarter of a pound of 
elecampane root, and give this in milk, in six doses. 

SOWS DEVOURING- THEIR OFFSPRING. Some have SUp 

posed that this is caused by a desire for meat, and the) 
have fed pork to their sows to remedy the evil. But i» 
is a mistaken view of the case. When they are confineo 
to a sty or small pen, they are deprived of pure earth / 
and various condiments that conduce to their health ; 
consequently, a feverish habit is induced, which causes an 
unnatural appetite, and the unfortunate animal, in her 
frenzied state, attempts to satisfy it by eating her own 
offspring. 

It has been found that when hogs run at large, seek- 
ing various condiments as they please, they do not 
devour their young. Allow the sow as much room in 
the yard as convenient, and throw in fresh, pure earth, 
if there be not a supply ; and if she be limited to a small 
space, where there are no green vegetables, give her 
weeds and grass sods, also charcoal and rotten- wood. 

Sows after Littering. Feed sparingly for a few 
days, and with light food, for sows are sometimes 
injured or killed by too much feeding while in a feeble 
and delicate state. If she be feeble, and her appetite fail, 
let her out, to run, root, and eat as she pleases. 

Abortion from Biestings. Many farmers believe 
that the first drawn milk from the cow will produce 
abortion in the sow. The editor of the Maine Farmer 
once gave some to a sow, and that effect followed; 
whether from this cause, he knew not. 




DOGS. 

This is a portrait of the Scotch Shepherd's dog, which 
is distinguished for fidelity and intelligence, performing, 
by his sagacity and agility, what no man, or any num- 
ber of men, could possibly accomplish. One of these 
affectionate animals once took care of a lost child for 
several days, dividing with him his allowance of food, 
which the child was eating in a cave when found by its 
friends. 

The dog is liable to various diseases. In most re- 
spects they are similar to those of other animals, and 
the remedies are nearly the same. Spirits of turpentine 
is more powerful to the dog, and calomel is more de- 
structive. He is a hot animal ; his stomach will digest 
bones. While the pulse of the horse is thirty-six to forty, 
and of the ox fifty to fifty -five beats per minute, that of 
a large, lazy dog is one hundred, and of a small, active 
< one, one hundred and fifteen to one hundred and twenty. 

Rabies, or Madness, is one of the most important sub- 
jects in veterinary pathology, as it involves not only the 
life of animals, but that of human beings. In this dis- 
24 



278 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

ease, there is not that dread of water, or hydrophobia, in 
the dog as some imagine, though it is common to the 
human patient, and to some animals, as he (the dog) 
will often drink almost incessantly till death. There is 
frequently a carelessness, and an ignorance, in regard to 
madness, from which follow the most direful Conse- 
quences. Dogs are allowed to lick wounds and sores 
when the first symptoms of madness are upon them, yet 
not known by the superficial observer. A lady lost her 
life by allowing a dog to lick a pimple, not aware that 
he was becoming mad. Dogs have bitten persons unex 
pectedly, and for a week or two the most skilful surgeons 
could not determine whether they were mad or not. 
There should be more caution in children playing with 
and teasing dogs, and dogs should be more closely 
watched, lest madness steal upon them unnoticed. 

Symptoms of madness, in the early stages, are rather 
obscure. There are generally sullenness, fidgetiness, and 
changing of posture, in regular succession. For several 
hours, the dog may retreat to his kennel, and laggardly 
answer calls upon him. He is curled up, with his head 
between his paws and breast. At length he becomes 
fidgety and searches out a new resting place, which he 
soon changes for others. He goes again to his old bed, 
and constantly changes his posture. He gazes around 
strangely, with a clouded and suspicious countenance 
Fie comes to one and another of the family, and gazes 
steadfastly on them, as if invoking their aid in the ter- 
rible malady that he feels creeping upon him. A pecu- 
liar delirium is an early symptom ; so is an increased 
attachment for his master, and he licks his hands and 
face. In this case, the poison may come in contact with 
a wound, pimple, or scratch, and infect the whole sys- 
tem. As the dog is becoming mad, he will sometimes 
refuse his food, and then snatch it up and suddenly drop 
it. Some dogs vomit once or twice in the early stages, 
and never return to their natural food, but are eager for 
something filthy and horrible. He often eats his own 
dung and that of the horse. Even in a room not fouled 
by the urine of dogs, he examines and licks unceasingly 
every corner ; this is a positive sign of madness. As to 



dogs. 279 

the fabulous stories of froth about the mouth, this is more 
common in fits, and some other disorders. The bark or 
other sound of the dug in madness is unnatural ; in fero 
cious madness, it is peculiar and characteristic, resem 
bling no other sound. It often commences with a bark 
and ends with a howl. 

In persons, madness generally takes place from three 
weeks to six or seven months from the time of being 
bitten — (cases are named in which the virus lay dormant 
for years) — in the dog, usually in five or six weeks, sel- 
dom in less than two weeks, nor beyond three months, 
though sometimes not till seven or eight months. In 
man it usually runs its course in twenty-four to seventy- 
two hours ; in the horse, from three to four days ; in 
cattle and sheep, from five to seven ; in the dog, from 
four to six. Fits and other diseases in dogs are often 
mistaken for madness. The cry of " Mad Dog!" is often 
raised without cause. It is said that the poison matter 
will produce no effect when taken internally, unless there 
is canker, or the skin is broken on the lips, mouth or 
throat. 

Preventives. Although there may be no cure for this 
disease when it has taken effect in the system, yet it 
may be prevented. The wounded part should be cut 
out, if possible, every part that is touched by the teeth, 
and great care should be taken that the knife does not 
pass from the wounded part out into the flesh, and thus 
extend the poison. If the knife chance to enter the 
wound in cutting, it should be cleaned immediately. 
Veterinary surgeons in Europe, after cutting the wound, 
and some without this operation, apply lunar caustic 
(nitrate of silver) to every part of the wound, even to the 
very bottom A hot iron will have the same effect, but 
it is more painful. 

Or apply the following as soon as possible ; if the 
wounded parts be carefully cut out the better : Take two 
table spoonfuls of fresh chloride of lime, mix with half 
a pint of water ; wash the wound with it, then apply it 
in a cloth, and renew often. In addition to excision of 
the parts, and the application of this caustic, keep the 
wound open five or six weeks, keeping up suppura- 



280 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

tion and running. All these preventive means are 
founded in reason. They have been extensively tried 
in some parts of Europe — in Breslau and Zurich, 
several hundred cases, with success in almost every 
ease. 

The following is said to be effectual ; it may aid as an 
internal medicine, but we should rely more on the above : 
Mix three table spoonfuls of very fine oyster-shell lime 
with the white of an egg, to the consistence of dough. 
Fry it in fresh butter or olive oil. Give this three morn- 
ings in succession, without food or drink for six hours. 

Distemper is an extensive and fatal malady, in some 
respects resembling glanders and horse-ail in horses. 
In England it destroys one third the canine race, attack- 
ing all ages, but mostly the young, and especially those 
from six to twelve months old. It is contagious, and is 
generated also. Early symptoms are, loss of appetite, 
spirits and condition ; weak eyes, slight running at the 
nose 5 in a few weeks, a husky cough, feverishness, shiv- 
ering, and sometimes fits. These and other symptoms 
increase. It may run its course in five or six weeks, or 
linger two or three months. 

Remedies. Bleed, physic, and give injections. A 
writer in the " Southern Cultivator," says : "Give a dog 
a table spoonful of salt, and if he does not vomit in 
twenty minutes, repeat it till he does. In half an hour, 
burn under his nose tar, feathers and a little sulphur, to 
induce running at that organ. Repeat this three times 
a day, and the salt every morning. I raise many dogs, 
often have distemper among them, and never lost one." 

Worms are frequently in the stomach, intestines and 
rectum. Give oil for physic, and oil and water as injec- 
tions. 

To prevent Dogs killing Sheep. Put the flock in a 
yard or small enclosure, and tie the dog to a stout horned 
buck, at less than a respectful distance, and let him butt 
the dog, moderately if he never offended, and severely if 
ne is an old transgressor. Mind and not allow the dog 
to assail the sheep. 

For various other diseases in dogs, treat as generally 
recommended for other animals. 







HENS. 

This cut represents the Dorking race, distinguished for 
uniting many excellent qualities. 

Location and Hen-house. Select a southern aspect, 
that the hens may enjoy the sunshine in cool weather. 
Have a dry, airy situation. Make the house so that it 
can be well ventilated in warm weather, and yet warm 
in the coldest weather. It should be well lighted, ana 
so arranged that the windows may be taken out to admit 
the air in summer. A house may be made warm by 
building it in the side of a bank, or by banking it up 
with earth. 

Food and Feeding. Hens may be fed mostly on the 

cheapest grain. They do well on Indian corn, oats, 

buckwheat, or barley, alone ; but it is best to give them 

two or three kinds. Corn is their favorite. Keep grain 

24* 



282 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

constantly by them, but not much at a time. Give them 
boiled potatoes also j mash them while hot, and stir in 
wheat bran and Indian meal. This is an excellent dish 
for chickens. In winter, give green food, such as cab 
bage-leaves, large slices of turnips, potatoes and apples 
in winter, and when confined in summer, give anima, 
food, and keep by them constantly gravel, old lime mor 
tar, pounded bones or oyster-shells. When closely con 
fined, they often suffer for want of exercise ; bury theii 
grain in dry earth, and let them scratch it out. This 
promotes laying in winter. 

Diseases. The Croup, or Catarrh, is the most destruc- 
tive. There is a running at the nose and eyes ; the eyes 
swell and are closed ; the whole head, mouth and throat, 
become affected. It-is a slow, lingering disorder, some 
times continuing in the same subject a whole year. It 
is caused by dampness, foul air and close confinement. 
Last fall we had some fine Dorking chickens, running a> 
large. We shut up only five or six in a house not very 
close. In a few weeks, they had the croup. We gave 
them a few pills of powdered charcoal and lard, washed 
their heads and mouths in soap suds, gave them a few 
doses of Cayenne pepper, and turned them out, and they 
soon recovered. This is the best treatment. Allow 
chickens exercise in pure air, pure food and water, with 
a little asafcetida in the water, and they will seldom be 
sick. For the Pip, take the scab from the tongue, and 
apply fine salt. For Looseness, give lard mixed with 
charcoal powder. For Costiveness, give lard. 

Lice. For large lice that appear on chickens' heads 
soon after hatched, apply lard, new rum or yellow snuff. 
For the very small lice, or ticks, a most insidious and 
formidable enemy, apply yellow snuff or new rum. 
Giving a little sulphur in food is good. By all means 
whitewash the hen-house as warm weather comes on, 
and repeat it, filling all the cracks and crevices. Put 
much salt in the whitewash 



TURKEYS AND DUCKS. 283 



TURKEYS. 

All kinds of young poultry should have a dry, airy 
shelter in bad weather, as cold and dampness are de- 
structive to them. The curd of milk is good food for 
young turkeys. It may be prepared by boiling sour 
milk. Eggs, boiled hard, are excellent. Indian meal 
is injurious. After they are a few weeks old, it may be 
given, if prepared by scalding. Brown bread is good. 
In some parts of the west, young turkeys are fed almost 
wholly on shorts, and with great success. They aje 
scalded or boiled, and stale bread added, if convenient. 
Boiled potatoes, mixed with bran and meal, are a very 
good food. If young turkeys become chilled and droop- 
ing, add to their food, chopped chives or onion tops, or a 
little pepper, or other warming food. When the weather 
is fair, turkeys do better to range in the free air, and seek 
their food. They are great ramblers, and cannot well 
bear confinement. 

DUCKS. 

The management of ducks is often bad when it is sup- 
posed to be good. They need fresh, pure water, not a 
nasty mud-hole. If you have no clear stream or pure 
pond, make a little artificial puddle or pond, and every 
morning change not only the water, but the mud and 
filth produced by the ducks ; and give a lot of fresh 
gravel every day, else they will soon decline. If they 
have water from the pump, let it stand in the sun before 
they enter. 

- The best food for young ducks is scraps, from the 
tallow-chandler, cut fine and sifted to the size of large 
peas, then swelled half a day, and mixed with an equal 
quantity, when swelled, of Indian meal. On this they 
will be fit for the market in five or six weeks. Protect 
from the wet and cold. Some succeed remarkably well, 
and ne :r let ducks go into water, having only a little to 
drink through slats. 



284 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 



GEESE. 

Geese will do well on the same food that cattle usually 
have. They have wintered well in the yard with cattle, 
having no other food. At the time of laying, hatching, 
and rearing their young, they should have a good, dry, 
warm house, in a warm, airy location. They will do well 
with only a little water to drink, yet they are fond of 
swimming and playing in water. They are raised on 
the prairies with no other water than a little to drink. 

BIRDS. 

Birds in a domestic state, should be kept in a dry, airy 
place, where it is cool or warm, according to their nature. 
Yet a current of air should be avoided, even in warm 
weather. Carefully guard against the effects of sudden 
changes in weather, especially when there are young 
birds. Their house, or cage, should be kept clean, and 
the former whitewashed, and the latter varnished, to 
prevent vermin. Wash the roost and cage often in 
whale-oil soap, for the same purpose. 

Feed generally on such food as the birds have been 
accustomed to in their native state. Give rice birds 
rice, and Canary birds canary seed, and give the latter 
a little hemp seed in spring, and hard-boiled eggs, mixed 
with crackers or stale wheat bread, also millet and dry 
Indian meal. Give occasionally Cayenne pepper. Keep 
pure water constantly by them. Most birds need little 
animal food. Supply all kinds of birds constantly with 
gravel and sand, old lime mortar, powdered bones, oyster- 
shells, chalk, charcoal, &c. 

BEES. 

Keep them in a place free from all filthy odors, and 
unpleasant effluvia. In the spring, clean the bottom 
board, and whitewash it and the lower edge of the hive, 
and the inside up to the comb. Put much fine salt into 
the wash, and apply it several times in the season. It 
promotes health and prevents moths; it also prevents 
or cures dysentery. 



PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING. 

In breeding and rearing animals, it is in the power of 
every individual to make great improvements in races 
not already of superior blood, by selecting the best 
formed animals to raise, and then selecting from these 
best, the very best to breed from. Some of the following 
principles are evident to every common observer ; others 
are the result of exact experiments and long observation 
Some of them are well established and universally ac 
knowledged ; others are questioned, and a few of them 
are disputed. 

Like produces like. This is a general law in the ani- 
mal and vegetable kingdoms. It is a governing princi- 
ple throughout animated nature. But there are some 
slight deviations, which may be carried out to a consid- 
erable extent and form new varieties. This general law, 
with these few deviations, lies at the foundation of all 
successful breeding. When we have obtained an excellent 
race, we can retain it with proper care. And from the 
deviations we have a vast number of varieties, that 
originally belonged to one variety. The principle, thai 
like produces like, only holds good in animals of a fixed 
race or blood stock ; for mixed breeds have no perma- 
nent qualities. 

Like produces like, in blood stock that has been care- 
fully bred for a white color, forty or fifty years, almost 
every animal will be wholly white. Now as to the de- 
viations. Select those that have a little red on them, 
and breed from them, continuing to select those that 
have the most red, and after a long course of careful 
breeding, a red race will be obtained. Then reverse and 
select those with spots of white, and you can breed 
bacK to the pure white. 

Sometimes the intellectual powers, or imagination, 
may have an influence over the organic power, and 
cause a material deviation from this general rule ; and 
in some instances a strong resemblance, to generations 
even long past, has been revived. A cow ran with a 



286 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

horned white ox, with some black spots, while she was 
in season, before taken to the bull. Neither the cow, 
bull, nor any of the herd, had horns or any white on 
them ; yet the calf had horns, and was black and white. 
Within a few years, in Maine, an animal showed distinct 
qualities of a bull that was in the herd forty years be- 
fore, which properties had not been apparent for a num- 
ber of generations previous to their late exhibition. 

Breeding il in and in" and Close Breeding. The former 
term implies breeding from precisely the same race, or 
blood ; and although this course is absolutely necessary, 
in some cases, to propagate a race in its purity, and may 
succeed very well for a few generations, yet it should 
not be carried far, as it will eventually tend to weakness 
of constitution and degeneracy. Breeding between a 
parent and its offspring, though Close Breeding, and ob- 
jectionable, is better than to breed between animals from 
the same parents, especially if the parents were of differ- 
ent races ; for, in the first case, the two animals are only 
half of the same blood ; bat, in the second, they are of 
the same blood. A connection of those animals that are 
allied to each other should generally be avoided. In 
breeding from the same race, it is better to extend the 
stock into different families, that there may be a wider 
range for selection. 

Crossing. By judicious crossing between animals of 
different breeds, the greatest improvements are made. 
In this case, the two races should not be widely differ- 
ent. If the two breeds are of different sizes, the male 
should be selected from the small race, and the female 
from the large breed. The reason for this is obvious ; 
for then the dam will have sufficient capacity for her 
young; it will not, nor herself, be endangered at its 
birth, and she will have a supply of nourishment for it. 
But if it be of a larger breed, the progeny might be 
limited, endangered, stinted, and wanting in symmetry 
and form. 

Superior Influence of Blood Stock. If one of the parents 
is blood stock, or a fixed breed, and the other is not, the 
blood stock will generally prevail. This is very evident 
as the animal of blood stock has its qualities permanently 



BREEDING. 287 

established, and will transmit them to the offspring, while 
those in the animal of a mixed race may be merely inci- 
dental and transient, not extending beyond that animal, 
or perhaps lie dormant for some years, and appear in 
future generations. For instance, one of the parents 
belongs to a fixed red race, and the other is a white ani- 
mal, in a mixed herd of various colors ; the progeny 
would generally be red. 

What determines the Sex? There is some reason for 
believing that the animal in the greatest vigor gives 
character to the sex. Put a stout buck, in the prime 
of life, and in fine condition, with only a few ewes, 
not vigorous, being young or old, and in low condition, 
an i most of the offspring will be males ; but take a very 
young or very old buck, rather poor, and put him with 
a, large number of strong, vigorous ewes, three or four 
years old, in good condition, and the majority of the 
lambs will be ewes. A French breeder would pro- 
duce a majority of males or females, in herds or flocks, 
at the pleasure of the owner, on this principle, yet it is 
disputed. 

The Influence of Sire and Dam. Many contend that 
the male has the greater influence on the progeny ; 
others say that the influence is equal ; and a few con- 
tend that the dam has the greater influence. The reason 
that so many think that the sat; has the greater influ- 
ence is doubtless from more attention having been given 
to the improvement of the male, as he is the more im- 
portant animal, from his greater progeny. 

It is the opinion of many breeders that the offspring 
more resembles the sire externally, and the dam inter- 
nally ; that in sheep, the lamb will resemble the sire in 
fleece, and the dam in disposition and constitution ; but 
this difference probably obtains only in a moderate de- 
gree. 

It is generally acknowledged that the male offspring 
more resembles the mother, and the female the father. 
On this principle, to get good cows from a superior cow, 
raise bulls from her and heifers from them, and the re- 
verse. Here we may have the reason for so many fail- 
ures in attempts to raise up fine cows from some very 



288 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

superior native cows ; but another important reason for 
the failure is that our native breed is mixed up and con- 
stantly varying. 

Causes of Degeneracy. They are numerous. Among 
the most prominent are, breeding from worthless animals 
and in a hap-hazard manner ; breeding in and in j close 
breeding; want of good keeping; want of good man- 
agement ; bad training, and excessive use of males. In 
some towns, not one good horse, male or female, can be 
found, and yet every sorry jade has a foal, and perhaps 
by the most worthless horse in the place ; and this be- 
ginning is of a piece with the whole mangement in rear- 
ing and breaking. In some cases, a buck is shut up and 
, poorly fed, and greatly reduced, and then turned into a 
large flock. 

Bad keeping, irregular feeding, the want of a regular 
supply of pure water, inaction, exposures, ill-usage, and 
bad management of any kind, are causes of degeneracy. 
To improve a race of animals, then, they must be well 
and regularly, but not too high fed, well educated, prop 
erly exercised, well curried, and managed every way 
for the promotion of their health, strength, and comfort 



THE END. 







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